Opinion ID: 199579
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Ellis's complicity in Formoso's deceit

Text: 9 Ellis's representation of Milan began at some point after the Victory Button accident and continued until July of 1990 when that claim was finally settled. Ellis's representation of Formoso began at least in November of 1989 and continued until July of 1994. 4 Ellis claimed that he did not learn that his office was representing one person with different claims under two different names until March 23, 1990, when Formoso came into his office and confessed to his dual identity. There was contrary evidence, however. There was testimony that Ellis himself admitted in a June 1994 hearing on Formoso's claim that he knew of the dual identity as early as December of 1989. Furthermore, one of Ellis's former associates testified that Ellis met personally with every new client during the initial intake process. Accordingly, the jury could have concluded that Ellis knew from the moment he began representing Formoso that he was also representing him in a different claim under the name of Denis Milan. 10 Although at trial Ellis would only admit to an awareness that Formoso was reluctant to tell doctors of his prior medical history, the evidence supports an inference that Ellis knew that Formoso would falsify his medical history by failing to disclose to doctors examining him after the hotel accident the prior accident at the Victory Button Company. Furthermore, although Ellis claimed that attorney-client confidentiality prevented him from revealing Formoso's dual identity to St. Paul, nothing in the record reveals that he ever sought to ensure that his analysis of that ethical issue was correct. Ellis never shared Formoso's confidences with attorneys at his own firm. Indeed, Ellis testified that during the entire period of his representation of both Milan and Formoso, he was the only person in his office who knew of the dual identity. 11 Also, Ellis's management of the workers' compensation department at his firm is entirely consistent with the actions of a man engaged in a fraudulent endeavor seeking to avoid exposure. Ellis controlled the flow of information in the workers' compensation department of his law firm. His method of assigning attorneys to files ensured that those attorneys were never able to gain a complete picture of any given case. Files were assigned randomly each week, with Ellis giving each attorney only enough information to allow that attorney to deal with the specific matter at issue. Ellis handled all of the mail and controlled its dissemination. In short, Ellis's method of managing the practice of his department reveals a man afraid of his subordinates getting enough information to form a complete picture of the department's activities. 12 Likewise, Ellis went to great lengths to ensure that Formoso never had to appear before the Department of Industrial Accidents as Milan. Though claimants would normally attend hearings on the settlement of a claim, Milan did not attend a hearing on the settlement of his claim against Cigna. Instead, Ellis submitted an affidavit dated May 10, 1990 indicating that Milan was a resident of Mamaroneck, New York with no intent to return to Massachusetts. On May 16, 1990, however, Formoso was in Massachusetts receiving a medical evaluation connected with the hotel accident. 13 In addition to actively concealing the dual identity, Ellis consistently used others as a buffer between himself and the creation and dissemination of false information in furtherance of Formoso's claim. Formoso's doctors incorporated the false medical history in their reports, thus unknowingly creating false reports that Ellis then used to convince St. Paul to pay benefits. Having assisted Formoso in the creation of these false reports, Ellis then used his associates, all of whom were in the dark about the true state of affairs, to unknowingly pass along that false information to St. Paul. In short, there was abundant evidence suggesting that Ellis was a willing participant in a scheme to obtain benefits fraudulently from St. Paul. 14