Attorneys Christine Craig and Michael Noonan recently won another hard fought battle to protect New England consumers from the unfair and deceptive acts of big business. This time, Shaheen & Gordon fought on behalf of Vermont consumers against Honeywell International, Inc. and for the first time in Vermont history obtained class certification in a contested case of this kind.
In the case of Wright v. Honeywell, Craig and Noonan represent a class of Vermont consumers who paid inflated prices for the Honeywell Round Thermostat due to Honeywell’s unfair, deceptive and anti-competitive acts in violation of the Vermont Consumer Fraud Act. Attorney Craig moved and argued for class certification in Orange County Superior Court. Though the Superior Court suspected that Honeywell engaged in unfair acts, it denied class certification on the basis that consumers could not prove with common evidence that Honeywell’s acts impacted each consumer. This ruling would have essentially ended the case if not for the successful appeal that followed. Attorney Craigappealed the denial to the Vermont Supreme Court arguing that the lower court misapprehended the appropriate legal standards and burden of proof at the class certification stage of the litigation. After extensive briefing and oral argument at the Vermont Supreme Court in Montpelier, the Court reversed the lower court’s decision and ruled that the consumer class be certified thus preserving the right of consumers to fight back against Honeywell.
Attorneys Craig and Noonan focus their practice of law on personal injury cases. Shaheen & Gordon is a full service law firm helping individuals in the areas of family law, criminal defense, personal injury law, workers’ compensation, social security disability and business and institutional matters.
