Attorney Jeffrey K. Varszegi's Legal Cases

Criminal defense

Alleged Domestic Assault and Battery

N/A

OUTCOME: Case dismissed

My client was accused of assault and battery on his domestic partner in a public place. Through investigation it was determined that not only had videotapes at the scene already been wiped, but that t ... he alleged victim's account differed from those of the three alleged witnesses, weakening the prosecution's case. The client could not afford most types of alternative dispositions (such as a Continuance Without A Finding) because of disastrous potential immigration consequences, as well as the existence of a similar prior case. Through careful strategy and negotiation, the case was dismissed without any repercussions to my client, and without the need for pretrial probation of any kind.

Contracts and agreements

Consumer protection against a travel scam

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OUTCOME: Favorable settlement

My clients were victimized by a travel scam operation in Massachusetts. By sending a Chapter 93A demand, and following up aggressively with threats of a lawsuit, I achieved a settlement for my clients ... including a refund.

Landlord or tenant

Deadbeat tenant evicted

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OUTCOME: Successful eviction

My client, a single father and owner of a duplex, rented to a "professional tenant" (one with a long history of stiffing landlords on rent, and/or suing landlords). After giving the tenant the long be ... nefit of the doubt, at great injury to his own finances, he decided to pursue eviction. The evasive tenant was tracked down by my process server one weekend, and we went to court. She signed an Agreement for Judgment agreeing to pay the landlord some money immediately for a brief extension of time. When she violated the agreement by bouncing a check, I immediately went back to court and successfully sought an execution (the right to have a constable physically move the tenant and her belongings out). Soon after, the tenant was successfully ousted from the unit.

Landlord or tenant

Housing discrimination

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OUTCOME: Favorable settlement, eviction case dismissed

My client, a disabled tenant living in housing, was a defendant in a summary process (eviction) case based on the client keeping a service animal despite a no-pets clause in the client's lease. Af ... ter a Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) complaint was filed against the landlord, I filed a memorandum detailing the discrimination leveled at my client, resulting in an initial finding of probable cause by the MCAD investigator. I sought a stay of the eviction case pending resolution of the MCAD claim, which was granted by the housing court. I then prepared for trial of the MCAD claim. Due to extensive negotiations with the landlord, the entire matter was settled favorably for my client and the eviction case was dismissed.

Lemon law

Lemon law violations

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OUTCOME: Favorable settlement

My client was sold a used car, which was supposed to come with an extended warranty, for which he paid extra money. The car began consuming oil at a rapid rate immediately, but the dealer did not succ ... essfully fix the problem, in fact only squirting silicone into parts of the engine as a sort of thumb-in-the-dike solution. The dealer, after promising to take the car back, backed out and engaged in lengthy stalling tactics. Investigation and analysis revealed that the landlord had not only violated the state Used Car Lemon Law by not providing necessary notifications at time of sale, but also federal law. Even worse, the dealer had never contacted the third-party warranty provider about the warranty purchased by my client. I immediately drafted a Chapter 93A consumer protection demand letter and served it on the dealer, with a copy sent to the Attorney General's office, also threatening to report the dealer to the Federal Trade Commission. In response, he offered only a partial settlement, and refused to come up to a reasonable settlement amount despite attempts to negotiate the matter. I readied the matter for trial, and after final negotiations achieved a settlement in full for my client, and the responsibility for the lemon car was re-assumed by the dealer.

Divorce and separation

Domestic Violence Divorce

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OUTCOME: Successful settlement

My client and children were victims of domestic violence at the hands of my client's spouse. After the divorce was filed, temporary orders were successfully established giving my client sole physical ... custody. My client's spouse continued to push the boundaries established by the temporary orders, and also claimed that he had no income. The end result was that my client got sole physical custody of all the children, the situation was managed to keep her as safe as possible, child support was instituted with the state involved to make sure my client's spouse paid, and my client did not have to pay any spousal support (alimony) though my client had significantly higher income.

Employment and labor

Unemployment

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OUTCOME: Victory, agency decision overturned on court appeal

My client had been terminated after being given conflicting instructions by his supervisor, and telling his supervisor that he would continue doing the core responsibilities of his job or else he would ... have to be fired. After being granted benefits initially by the DUA (Department of Unemployment Assistance), the employer appealed. The client was represented at the hearing by a different attorney, and unfortunately the client was not only found to be ineligible for unemployment-- he was also on the hook for a great deal of back unemployment benefits, and had to pay them back. The client subsequently appealed further to the agency's Board of Review, but lost again. Then he retained my services for help in appealing his case to the District Court. After filing the complaint and a lengthy brief, and conducting an oral argument in front of the judge, the DUA's decision was overturned, my client was found eligible for unemployment benefits, and he also did not have to pay back the money he had already received.

Employment and labor

Unemployment

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OUTCOME: Victory at hearing level; client eligible for benefits

My client was accused of violating national security by compromising secure data, and had been terminated on this basis. At a series of three lengthy and complicated unemployment hearings, I successfu ... lly showed not only that no data had actually been compromised, but that the employer had failed to follow its own disciplinary practices regarding the alleged failure. I afterward helped the client follow up with the appropriate agency to protect his continued eligibility for a security clearance.

Criminal defense

Alleged firearms violations

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OUTCOME: Continuance without a finding (CWOF), followed by dismissal upon successful completion of probation

My client was accused of multiple failures to follow firearms safekeeping requirements, with potential incarceration originally totalling over seventy years in prison. The firearms involved had been s ... eized by the police while serving a temporary restraining order brought by a family member (the restraining order was later dismissed as groundless, and there was much prior bad blood between the family members). After investigation, and based on the fact that the police had no warrant, nor any valid exception to the warrant requirement for a search of my client's residence, I determined that a motion to suppress the evidence against my client was in order, though not necessarily a sure winner. The assistant district attorney assigned to the case had refused to plea bargain, but over the assistant district attorney's objection, based on presenting the shakiness of the Commonwealth's case to the judge, I was able to arrange a reasonable period of pretrial probation followed by a dismissal of all charges upon successful completion of probation.

Criminal defense

Alleged domestic assault and battery

N/A

OUTCOME: Case dismissed

My client's spouse had invaded my client's privacy and found what the spouse considered to be evidence of my client's marital infidelity. An argument ensued, and the spouse called the police, later te ... lling the police that my client had committed an assault and battery. After investigation and discovery, it became apparent not only that the spouse had acted inconsistently with the spouse's claims on the day of the alleged assault and battery, but had made statements to treatment professionals inconsistent with the charges. Unfortunately, despite the very shaky case, the assistant district attorney refused to dismiss the case or to consider anything but a guilty plea by my client. I sought access to the confidential records of the spouse, resulting in the admissibility at trial of the records containing the vital statements showing that my client was falsely accused. I also subpoenaed the witnesses to the spouse's statements, to testify at trial. I also provided the district attorney's office with evidence that in fact the alleged victim had injured my client, instead of the other way around. The case was eventually dismissed by the Commonwealth on the originally scheduled date of trial.

Jeffrey K. Varszegi's Legal Cases (10)

Alleged Domestic Assault and Battery

Consumer protection against a travel scam

Deadbeat tenant evicted

Housing discrimination

Lemon law violations

Domestic Violence Divorce

Unemployment

Unemployment

Alleged firearms violations

Alleged domestic assault and battery