Thomas B. Farrey, III

Managing Director

Marlborough, Massachusetts/ Boston, Massachusetts/ Providence, Rhode Island (508)-756-6288 farrey@burnsandfarrey.com

Overview

Thomas Farrey is the AV-Preeminent rated Managing Director of Burns & Farrey. Attorney Farrey’s practice focuses on the litigation and trial of high exposure civil actions in the state and federal courts. He represents insurers, excess and surplus lines carriers, and self-insurers such as BIC Corporation, Trek Bicycle Corporation, Sunbelt Rentals, and the Pyramid Companies. Mr. Farrey is the firm’s primary contact with the London market. He additionally monitors the handling of ongoing claims on behalf of underwriters. 

Attorney Farrey’s litigation and trial experience covers a broad spectrum of defense work. Mr. Farrey is admitted in the state and federal courts in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire as well as the United States Court of Appeals in the First Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. He is additionally admitted in the state of Connecticut. He holds a J.D. with honors from Suffolk University Law School and a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross.

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Awards, Recognition, and Affiliations

Professional Associations/Memberships

American Bar Association (ABA), 1980 – Present, Member

Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA), 1980 – Present, Member

Worcester County Bar Association (WCBA), 1980 – Present, Member

Rhode Island Bar Association, 2001 – Present, Member

New Hampshire Bar Association, 2007 – Present, Member

Maine Bar Association, 2009 – Present, Member 

Federal Court Committee, Worcester County Bar Association

Propane Gas Defense Association (PGDA) 2005 – Present, Member

Massachusetts Defense Lawyer’s Association (MDLA), 1995 – Present, Member

International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), 1996 – Present, Member

Defense Research Institute (DRI), 1985 – Present, Member

American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), 1999-Present, Member, 2012-President, Mass. Chapter

National Association of Surplus Lines Offices LTD, (NAPSLO)

Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS)

Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS)

Listed in The Best Lawyers in America©, 2009-2019

Named in Massachusetts Super Lawyers, 2004, 2008-2018 

National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), 2011-Present, Member

Senior Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America

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Reported Cases

Van Hoesen v. Lloyd’s, 134 A.3d 178 (2016)

Agostini v. Pilgrim Ins. Co., 2008 Mass. App. Div. 19 (2008)

Phoung Luc v. Wyndham Management Corp., 496 F.3d 85 (1st Cir. 2007)

Bjorkman v. Suffolk Construction Co., Inc., 42 Mass. App. Ct. 591 (1997)

West v. Davis, 33 Mass. App. Ct. 1120 (1993)

Spaulding v. Young, 32 Mass. App. Ct. 624 (1992)

Salamone v. Riczker, 32 Mass. App. Ct. 429 ( 1992)

Pittsley v. Warish, 927 F.2d 3 (1st Cir. 1991)

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Education

Suffolk University Law
School, J.D. cum laude (1980)

College of the Holy Cross,
B.A. in English (1976)

Practices

Auto/Trucking 

Construction Liability 

Claims Monitoring

Fire Loss

General Liability

Higher Education/
Secondary Schools

Insurer Bad Faith 

Labor & Employment 

Liquor Liability/Dram Shop

Municipal Liability/Civil Rights

Premises Liability

Professional Liability

Product Liability

Admissions

Massachusetts, 1980

U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, 1981

U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit, 1990

U.S. Supreme Court, 1991

Rhode Island, 2001

U.S. District Court, District of Rhode Island, 2002

New Hampshire, 2007

U.S. District Court, District of New Hampshire, 2007

Maine, 2007

U.S. District Court, District of Maine, 2008

Connecticut, 2019