Appeals Court -- January 25, 2012
Facts: During a delivery of heating oil to her home in March 2004, Sandman’s basement was flooded with over one hundred gallons of oil when a delivery line burst. Sandman’s insurer, Quincy Mutual Fire Insurance Company (Quincy Mutual), agreed to cover the costs of the cleanup, but the policy did not cover the damage to Sandman’s personal belongings. Subsequently, Quincy Mutual hired an attorney, Frank L. Fragomeni, to recover its costs from the cleanup from the oil delivery business, Supreme Fuel and Energy (Supreme). Sandman also sought to sue Supreme, but claims that during her search, she was contacted by Fragomeni, who told her that he would represent her claims as well as Quincy Mutual’s against Supreme. Sandman claimed Fragomeni worked with her, representing himself as her attorney, until Fragomeni settled Quincy Mutual’s claim and then informed Sandman that he could not represent her because of the conflict of interest. Sandman claimed that at this point she was unable to sue Supreme because the statute of limitations had passed. Sandman claimed it was malpractice for Fragomeni to tell her he was her attorney.
Issue: Is Quincy Mutual liable for Fragomeni’s malpractice?
No. The court found that Fragomeni was not an employee of Quincy Mutual but was rather only an independent contractor. Further, since Fragomeni was an attorney, it was his professional responsibility to avoid committing malpractice. Based on these two findings, the court found that Quincy Mutual could not be liable for Fragomeni’s malpractice.
