Chris' practice focuses on resolving his clients' complex civil litigation matters quickly, efficiently, and in line with their legal and business objectives. He has extensive federal and state litigation experience in addition to advising clients on a range of legal issues. Chris represents a broad spectrum of clients including Fortune 500 companies, insurance companies, small businesses and individuals. He has mediated matters and litigated and tried lawsuits in state and federal courts in multiple jurisdictions.
Notable Experience
· Chris successfully argued and won a motion for summary judgment based on the Statute of Repose on behalf of his client, an insulation company, in an asbestos related personal injury lawsuit with a $1.2 million demand. The decision significantly reduced claims against our client in the Massachusetts Asbestos Litigation.
· Chris won a dismissal for an international oil and gas company in a products liability case after gathering evidence during discovery which completely undermined the plaintiff's allegation.
· He won summary judgment in a federal wrongful death case for alleged fatal exposure to vinyl chloride brought against his client, a Fortune 500 chemical company on the sophisticated user defense.
Recent Speaking Engagements and Publications
· "Use of the Apex Doctrine," co-author, For The Defense, February 2012.
· "Preparing the Plaintiff and Defendant for Deposition and Trial," speaker, Trying an Asbestos Case - How to to Get the "W", Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 25, 2011.
· "How to Bring or Defend a Take-Home Exposure Case," faculty member, Asbestos Take Home Care Essentials webinar presented by HB Litigation Conferences, September 16, 2010.
· "The Threat of a New Wave of Foreign Asbestos Claims in United States Courts," author, Latin American Law and Business Report, June 28, 2010 and Edwards Wildman Palmer Insurance and Reinsurance Review, September 2010.
· "The Threat of a New Wave of Foreign Asbestos Claims in United States Courts," author, El Dial Suplemento de Seguros & Reaseguros, June 2010.
· "Emerging Trends in Asbestos Litigation" presenter, Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP webinar, May 24, 2010.
· "Bankruptcy Trusts in Asbestos Litigation and Insurance Coverage Implications," speaker, IntAP Technical Meeting, Cologne, Germany, December 9 - 10, 2009.
News & Publications
September 2010, The Threat of a New Wave of Foreign Asbestos Claimants in United States Courts
Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge Insurance and Reinsurance Review - September 2010
September 2010, Insurance and Reinsurance Review - September 2010
September 14, 2009, Christopher M. Tauro Joins Boston Office of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge as Partner in Insurance & Reinsurance Department
Before Edwards Wildman
Prior to joining Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP, Chris had been a partner in private practice in Boston and obtained extremely successful results in multiple jurisdictions for his clients including:
· In a fire loss subrogation case he obtained one of the largest settlements in 2002 in Massachusetts while representing insurer where the policy holder alleged that the negligent warehousing of its merchandise caused a fire which resulted in approximately $2 million in damages.
· Having obtained a six figure settlement for plaintiff in a personal injury case against a state transportation agency.
· Won a dismissal in a federal wrongful death case brought against a chemical company by plaintiff for alleged fatal exposure to vinyl chloride. After a hearing on the chemical company's Motion to Dismiss, the court dismissed the plaintiff's claims against the client.
Chris was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from 1997 to 2001 where he defended the United States in complex civil litigation, including various federal agencies in age, sex and race discrimination cases. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Chris had:
· Successfully obtained a favorable settlement in a $25 million wrongful death case brought by the parents of two young boys who drowned while playing near a federally controlled canal in Lowell, Massachusetts.
· Negotiated a multi-million dollar settlement involving two waste management operations that had been disposing of waste in violation of federal law.
· Successfully defended the U.S. Park Service and U.S Fish and Wildlife Service in a lawsuit brought by a Japanese owned company seeking to harvest horseshoe crabs for biomedical purposed in the Cape Cod National Seashore and Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. After a year of intense litigation, the court allowed the defendants' motions for summary judgment.
Before joining the United States Attorney's Office, Chris was an Assistant District Attorney in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, from 1993 to 1997 in a special federally funded unit targeting career criminals where he prosecuted some of the most serious criminal cases in the county including a case involving a defendant accused of swindling an elderly woman with dementia out of her life savings through a home improvement scam, where he was convicted after a two-week jury trial and sentenced to eight to ten years in state prison. Because the victim was unable to testify due to her mental incapacity, the case was proven through handwriting, construction, and medical experts.
Besides Edwards Wildman
When Chris is not fighting for his clients in both state and federal courts, he enjoys spending time with family in Marblehead, Massachusetts and traveling throughout Argentina with his wife, son and daughter visiting family and friends. He enjoys playing tennis, practicing martial arts and is an avid reader of crime and mystery novels.
Events
January 25, 2011, Philadelphia, PA, Trying an Asbestos Case - How to Get the "W"
May 25, 2010, Emerging Trends in Asbestos Litigation: US/UK/European Issues and Perspectives
December 9 - 10, 2009, Cologne, Germany, InTAP Technical Meeting
Memberships
· Massachusetts Bar Association
· Boston Bar Association