Lawmaker is facing malpractice trial
Ex-client says he botched defense
A lawmaker from Taunton who runs a private law firm is facing a legal malpractice trial following a ruling yesterday by the state's high court.
Democratic Representative James H. Fagan and Boston lawyer William A. Brown are being sued by a former client, Humberto Correia of Taunton, who alleges they bungled his defense in a 2002 arson and mail fraud case in federal court.
Correia had been accused of setting fire to his Taunton business in 1996 to help pay off his debts. He was convicted with Fagan and Brown as his lawyers, but US District Court Judge Rya Zobel, who oversaw his trial, ruled that Fagan and Brown were ineffective and ordered a new trial. With Boston's Robert A. George as his lawyer, Correia was acquitted in 2004.
Correia then sued Fagan and Brown for malpractice.
The Supreme Judicial Court ruled unanimously yesterday that Superior Court Judge Christopher Muse was wrong to toss out Correia's malpractice claim in March 2007.
The SJC said that, in Massachusetts, a criminal defendant suing his or her defense lawyer for malpractice must show by a preponderance of evidence that the defendant is actually innocent of the crime.
The SJC said yesterday that Fagan - Brown was not mentioned - failed to show that Correia did not have a fire alarm in the building, as prosecutors wrongly claimed; failed to tell the jury that Correia's insurance company paid his claim after concluding it was not arson; and failed to show that Correia's finances, while strained, were not disastrous.
According to SJC filings, Fagan was the lone witness in an evidentiary hearing held May 17, 2002. He testified that he failed to hire an arson specialist to investigate the crime and attack the credibility of the government's witnesses, and that this decision unreasonably deprived Correia of an otherwise available ground of defense.
The SJC said Correia is now entitled to a trial in the malpractice case. "The question to be resolved is whether to credit the circumstantial evidence suggesting Correia's guilt or the evidence suggesting his innocence," the court said.
Lawyers for Correia, Fagan, and Brown did not return telephone calls yesterday. Fagan is on vacation and will not be available until next week, an aide at his Taunton law office said. Brown did not return a telephone call seeking comment.
John Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com.
