Nelson G. Apjohn
- T. 617.439.2246
- F. 617.310.9246
- E. napjohn@nutter.com
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Overview
Nelson G. Apjohn is a partner in Nutter’s Litigation Department. He regularly represents clients in civil litigation cases, focusing on business litigation and products liability claims. In addition, clients rely on Nelson’s extensive experience litigating a variety of matters such as eminent domain, insurance, executive compensation, legal malpractice defense, construction (both commercial and personal injury), trusts and estates, and various personal injury claims. Nelson has trial and appellate experience in both the state and federal courts, as well as experience in state regulatory proceedings and arbitration.
Notable Experience and Client Impact
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In November 2019, a Nutter trial team received a jury verdict in their favor for Nutter’s client, a Big Four accounting firm. Nutter’s client was alleged to have committed accounting malpractice for not detecting a fraud during the course of its annual audits. The plaintiff was seeking approximately $30 million in alleged actual and punitive damages. After a three-week trial in the Business Litigation Session of the Massachusetts Superior Court, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Nutter’s client and the judge dismissed all remaining claims. Nutter’s trial team included Ian Roffman, Nelson Apjohn, and Melanie Woodward, and they tried the case with co-counsel George Salter of Hogan Lovells (NY).
- Nelson represented The Commerce Insurance Company, the largest vehicle insurer in Massachusetts, in a putative class action claiming that its policy and Massachusetts regulations required Commerce to pay sales tax when settling a total-loss claim made by a third-party claimant, who fails to show that he or she incurred a sales tax purchasing a replacement vehicle. He argued the summary judgment motion before the Superior Court, which granted the motion and entered judgment in favor of Commerce. Nelson also successfully argued on behalf of Commerce the plaintiff’s appeal before the Massachusetts Court of Appeals, which affirmed the judgment. Ramirez v. Commerce Ins. Co., 91 Mass. App. Ct. 144 (2017).
- An automotive products liability trial in 2016 against Hyundai Motor America, involving a claim that the brake and accelerator pedal configuration of an automobile was conducive to simultaneous depression of the pedals and unintended acceleration, resulting in serious personal injuries. After a seven-day trial, the jury returned a defense verdict in favor of Nelson’s client, Hyundai Motor America.
- An eminent domain trial involving the Sagamore Flyover Highway Project, which was one of the top ten verdicts in Massachusetts in 2011, according to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. A jury awarded damages of $2.1 million to the plaintiff landowners after a two-week trial.
- An eminent domain trial resulting in a $4.15 million verdict for the plaintiff landowner in a case involving the taking of land at the Sagamore Rotary; a verdict that Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly reported was among the top ten verdicts in Massachusetts in 2010. (A retrial in 2015 resulted in a verdict of $5.33 million for the plaintiff landowner.)
- A trial in 2010 in the Business Session of the Massachusetts Superior Court resulting in a judgment in excess of $3 million on behalf of a bank, as a secured creditor, against a construction company. In addition to the trial, Nelson successfully argued the appeal and the bank’s cross-appeal before the Supreme Judicial Court, ultimately resulting in a judgment in excess of $7.6 million, including interest. Reading Co-operative Bank v. Suffolk Construction Company, Inc., 464 Mass. 543 (2013). Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly chose this decision as one of the most important commercial decisions of 2013.
- Boone v. Commerce Insurance Company, 451 Mass. 192 (2008), which Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly selected as one of the most important insurance opinions of 2008. The case was an appeal that Nelson successfully argued before the Supreme Judicial Court, reversing a summary judgment and Appeals Court affirmance.
- The successful appeal before the Supreme Judicial Court on behalf of a Massachusetts motor vehicle insurer in a putative class action, overturning a lower court summary judgment holding that the Massachusetts standard motor vehicle policy provided collision coverage for so-called "inherent diminished value," in Given v. Commerce Insurance Company, 440 Mass. 207 (2003). Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly ranked the decision as one of the ten most important decisions of 2003.
A leader in the legal industry, Nelson is involved in numerous professional organizations:
- American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow and Massachusetts State Committee Chair
- Litigation Counsel of America, Senior Fellow
- Standing Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, chair
- Boston Inn of Court, former member, co-president for the 2015-2016 term, and a former member of its Executive Committee
- New England Legal Foundation, member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee
- Boston Bar Association, member
- International Association of Defense Counsel, member
- Defense Research Institute, member
Nelson has lectured at continuing legal education programs for civil litigation and authored various legal works, including:
- Editor, Massachusetts Superior Court Civil Practice Manual, and contributing co-author of “Dispositive Motions” chapter (6th ed. 2023)
- “Product Liability” chapter supplement in the Massachusetts Superior Court Civil Practice Jury Instructions (J. D. Lipchitz et al. eds., 3rd ed., 2nd Supp. 2018), co-author with Superior Court Judge Hon. Maynard M. Kirpalani
- Further Discovery of Expert Witnesses Under Massachusetts Rule of Civil Procedure 26, 88 Mass. L. Rev. 197 (2004)
- Expert Evidence, A Practitioner’s Guide to Law, Science, and the FJC Manual (Bert Black & Patrick W. Lee eds. 1997), contributing author
- Post-“Daubert” Admissibility of Expert Testimony on Mechanical Design and Engineering Issues, 23 Prod. Safety & Liab. Rep. (BNA) 553 (1995), co-author with S. M. Quill
- “Consider Legal Issues in Software Buys,” Mass High Tech, author
- “Internet Property Protection Derives from an Arcane Source,” Mass High Tech, author
During law school, Nelson served as the managing editor and articles editor of the Boston College Law Review.
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Experience
Experience
News & Insights
News
Speaking Engagements
Publications
Honors
Honors
- American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow and Vice Chair, Massachusetts State Committee
- Litigation Counsel of America, Senior Fellow
- Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer – independently rated and selected by clients
- Massachusetts Super Lawyers, 2004-2024
- Top 100 Massachusetts Super Lawyers, 2014-2015, 2017, 2019-2024
- Top 100 New England Super Lawyers, 2014
- The Best Lawyers in America, 2016-2025
- The Best Lawyers in America, Product Liability Litigation - Defendants Lawyer of the Year, 2022, 2024
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Boston Magazine “Top Lawyers,” 2021-2023
Education & Admissions
Education
Boston College Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif
Syracuse University, B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Admissions
- Massachusetts
Notable Experience
In November 2019, a Nutter trial team received a jury verdict in their favor for Nutter’s client, a Big Four accounting firm. Nutter’s client was alleged to have committed accounting malpractice for not detecting a fraud during the course of its annual audits. The plaintiff was seeking approximately $30 million in alleged actual and punitive damages. After a three-week trial in the Business Litigation Session of the Massachusetts Superior Court, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Nutter’s client and the judge dismissed all remaining claims. Nutter’s trial team included Ian Roffman, Nelson Apjohn, and Melanie Woodward, and they tried the case with co-counsel George Salter of Hogan Lovells (NY).
Noteworthy
- American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow and Massachusetts State Committee Chair
- Litigation Counsel of America, Senior Fellow
- Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer – independently rated and selected by clients
- Massachusetts Super Lawyers, 2004-2024
- Top 100 Massachusetts Super Lawyers, 2014-2015, 2017, 2019-2024
- Top 100 New England Super Lawyers, 2014
- The Best Lawyers in America, 2016-2025
- The Best Lawyers in America, Product Liability Litigation - Defendants Lawyer of the Year, 2022, 2024
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Boston Magazine “Top Lawyers,” 2021-2023