Attorney Mason is a litigation associate with Bennett & Belfort, P.C. Mr. Mason received his undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona (link: www.arizona.edu), holds a graduate degree in Philosophy and Social Policy from the American University (link: www.american.edu) and completed his legal studies at the Boston University School of Law (link: www.bu.edu/law). Mr. Mason is admitted to practice in Massachusetts State and Federal courts, and is a member of the Massachusetts (link: www.massbar.org) and Boston Bar (link: www.bostonbar.org) Associations.

Attorney Mason practices in the area of civil litigation, with an emphasis on employment matters, including wrongful termination, discrimination, medical leave, non-competition agreements and wage issues. Mr. Mason has presented seminars on employment-related issues, including employee discharge and documentation. He is a frequent contributor to the Springfield Republican’s (link: www.masslive.com/republican) “Ask the Expert” column, answering reader questions on pregnancy discrimination, wrongful discharge, medical leave, and other employment law matters. Attorney Mason has authored or co-authored a number of publications, including “The Employee-Shareholder: At the Frontier of Business and Employment Law,” which was published in the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Section Review journal. In 2009, Attorney Mason was selected for inclusion as a “New England Super Lawyers - Rising Star” (link: www.superlawyers.com) in Employment & Labor Law.

Attorney Mason was a member of the legal team that prevailed in Haddad v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., in which our client prevailed on claims of gender discrimination, pay disparity, and defamation. Attorney Mason drafted key pleadings and pursued valuable discovery on behalf of our client. The jury awarded Ms. Haddad in excess of $2 million dollars in damages, representing the largest jury verdict in a Massachusetts employment discrimination case in 2007. The 2009 appellate decision by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts reinforced the jury’s award and set clear legal precedent on punitive damages and front pay.

In addition to employment matters, Mr. Mason represents and counsels clients in issues involving landlord/tenant law, business disputes, business entity formation, and other matters.

Prior to joining Bennett & Belfort P.C., Mr. Mason held an internship at Unité d’Éthique Biomédicale/Biomedical Ethics Unit at Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium and also worked as a legal researcher at the Health Law Department of the Boston University School of Public Health.

Highlights:

• Successfully argued for dismissal of claims against a shareholder in a closely-held corporation, where the plaintiffs claimed that his client's act of establishing a new corporation amounted to improper competition with the original business. The Court ruled that our client did not breach any duty to the original corporation and entered a summary judgment in our client's favor. Data Cable Networks, Inc. v. Gogan, 22 Mass.L.Rptr. 520 (2007).
• In a case involving a novel development in the application of the Massachusetts Public Records statute, Mr. Mason successfully argued that a police officer was entitled to obtain records of the police department's investigation into allegations that officers, including his client, had cheated on a promotional exam. Our client was absolved of any wrongdoing and subsequently requested a copy of the internal affairs investigation records. The police department and Massachusetts Supervisor of Records argued that these were not public records, but the Court recognized the fundamental public interest in the transparency of the police internal affairs process and ordered them to be produced. Leeman v. Cote, 21 Mass.L.Rptr. 411 (2006).
• Prevailed in a jury trial and obtained a significant award under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act on behalf of tenants whose landlord failed to remedy a pervasive bedbug infestation in their apartment. The evidence demonstrated that the landlord knew about the problem at the time she rented the apartment to the tenants, but that she failed to notify them and did not take sufficient steps to rectify the situation.
• Successfully defended members of an LLC against claims of fraud by an investor who alleged that our clients had misappropriated his investment in the business. After the business failed, the plaintiff claimed that our clients had deceived him into making his investment and sought the return of his money. Attorney Mason prevailed at trial, where the jury found that our clients had not deceived the plaintiff and were under no obligation to return his investment.