Morris R. Borea

Morris Borea is an experienced trial lawyer who has been trying cases before juries in State and Federal Courts for over 25 years. Morris has tried cases for both plaintiffs and defendants where the disputes have involved millions of dollars or important legal issues that affect future decisions for years to come. His successful representation of Corporations, Towns and Individuals is the result of careful preparation, years of experience interacting with jurors and telling them the truth.

Morris graduated from Trinity College in Hartford in 1979 majoring in Biology and Psychology. He graduated from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1982. While in Law School and upon graduation Morris worked for the Attorney General's Office in the Tax Division and then was Special Counsel to the Secretary of State's Office in the Corporation's Division. In 1985 Morris entered private practice and almost immediately began to try jury cases, with his first jury verdict coming in 1986 when he successfully defended a car accident case in the New London Superior Court where the jury rendered a verdict that was for less than the offer that was made during trial. Two years later Morris tried his first plaintiff's case against a senior partner at one of Hartford's largest defense firms, Halloran & Sage. The best offer that was made during trial was $50,000; the jury awarded $180,000 for the plaintiff's broken ankle. The senior partner was impressed and in 1989 Morris joined Halloran & Sage as an associate.

Through the years Morris has handled a wide array of cases, including trade secrets litigation, complex commercial litigation, tax disputes, medical malpractice cases, wrongful death claims and product liability claims. Among the notable decisions he has secured are a million dollar verdict against the State of Connecticut for a defective highway claim, resulting in the largest settlement that the State had ever paid for such a claim*; a decision for well over a million dollars in an unfair trade practices claim against a national home builder based on fraud and misrepresentation; a settlement of $1,450,000 for the wrongful death of an 80 year old man killed by a reckless police officer*; and a million dollar settlement for a corporate client as a result of a product liability claim involving contaminated ingredients used by the client to manufacture food supplements*. Over the years Morris has obtained verdicts and settlements for his clients that total well into the millions of dollars.

Morris has also defended substantial claims brought against his clients. In 2009 Morris tried the first asbestos product liability case in Connecticut in over 20 years. His aggressive defense of the case helped to achieve a favorable settlement of the case on appeal. In 2008 he defended a claim for increased pension benefits brought by the former personnel director of the Town of Rocky Hill. The plaintiff was seeking to double her pension payments based on a memorandum signed by a former Town Manager. After a trial in Federal Court the Judge ruled in favor of the Town and entered judgment denying the plaintiff's claim. Morris also defended a major corporation in an anti-trust investigation brought by the Attorney General's office alleging price fixing. After extensive discovery and negotiation the State agreed not to pursue an action against his client.

Besides his trial work, Morris is Co-Chair of the firm's Municipal Law Department. He has been the Town Attorney for Rocky Hill for many years and has represented numerous Towns in Central Connecticut. He has handled hundreds of tax appeals for municipal clients, numerous zoning appeals and substantial eminent domain litigation. He is currently representing the Town of Wethersfield in Federal Court in a claim against Motorola alleging the negligent design and installation of its public safety radio system. As Town Attorney Morris is involved in all aspects of Town government and provides advice and guidance regarding all issues faced by the Town, including environmental issues, personnel matters and general governance questions.

Morris also represents taxpayers. He has represented Mobil Oil Corporation, Ford Motor Company, Massachusetts Mutual Insurance Company and Hallmark Cards, Inc., in property tax appeals involving millions of dollars. His considerable experience with tax appeals provides him with the expert relationships and resources to handle any tax appeal no matter how substantial. Morris knows that a property's value is not based on the owner's ability to pay taxes but on what the property is worth in the marketplace. He has been invited to lecture on the trial of tax appeals by the Statewide Tax Assessors Association and the Connecticut Association of Municipal Attorneys.

Morris strongly believes that the law is a profession that requires that we give back to the Community.

Morris is very involved in his community and profession. He is a long time member of the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association. He has lectured numerous times about trial tactics, product liability, premises liability and wrongful death litigation. He has served as Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals in Wethersfield for over 10 years. He has been a lector at Corpus Christi Church for over 15 years. For the last 4 years he has been the Athletic Director at Corpus Christi School. He has been a Little League coach in Wethersfield for over 5 years. He is a past President and Board member of Wethersfield UNICO, an Italian American service organization that raises money for charity. He has been a UNICO member for over 10 years and serves on the Scholarship Committee.

*Disclaimer: Many of our attorney’s notable verdicts and settlements are listed and discussed throughout our site.  In addition to the services rendered by our attorneys, the results obtained reflect, and depend upon, the individual merits of each matter.  Past performance is not a guarantee of future success as each individual result depends upon the specific facts of the case.