Overview
With more than a decade of experience handling sophisticated real estate, business and employment disputes, Matt Furman represents landowners and developers, businesses and employers. Matt’s approach to representing his clients begins by consistently focusing on their big picture goals. In developing a case strategy, be it aggressive or practical, he strives to reflect what really matters to them.
Matt regularly tries cases to judges and juries in Massachusetts courts, including the Superior Court’s Business Litigation Session and the Land Court. In addition, he has represented parties in appeals before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Matt has been instrumental in securing several high-stakes, high-profile victories. For example, he obtained a defense judgment following a bench trial dismissing an adverse possession claim as to commercial property owned by the firm’s client. The plaintiff previously owned the full parcel adjoining the client’s property but conveyed the parcel to a condominium in 2004 – during the 20-year adverse possession period – retaining ownership of one of two units (buildings) on the parcel and a corresponding percentage interest in the common area.
A Massachusetts Superior Court judge ruled that under Massachusetts statutory law only the condominium association had the authority to pursue a claim for adding property to the common areas. The judge also determined that the plaintiff could not seek to tack on open and notorious acts of possession of the disputed parcel from prior to the creation of the condominium in 2004 – necessary to meet the 20-year period – as any tacking rights were conveyed to the condominium when it was created.
An active member of several bar associations, Matt serves on the Boston Bar Association’s Business and Commercial Litigation Steering Committee and is a frequent contributor to REBA News, the newspaper of the Real Estate Bar Association.