Christopher A. Monson

Chris is a partner in the Boston office of Morrison Mahoney and a seasoned trial attorney with more than ten years of litigation experience. He concentrates his practice on product liability, premises liability, contract law, construction site accidents, catastrophic car accidents, and commercial litigation. Chris is licensed to practice in Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Before joining Morrison Mahoney, Chris served as prosecutor and defense counsel in the United States Air Force, where he tried 20 bench and jury trials in serious criminal cases. Chris established a successful track record of convictions as a prosecutor in high-profile drug distribution and sexual assault cases. He also obtained several full acquittals for his clients as a defense counsel. For his final assignment in the Air Force, Chris served as appellate defense counsel, advocating for his clients before the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeal and the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Chris was also a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Department of Justice, prosecuting felonies and misdemeanors committed on federal property in the Western District of Missouri.

Since moving into private practice, Chris has continued his litigation success by obtaining several victories in complex litigation matters at the motion to dismiss and summary judgment stages. In doing so, Chris helped his clients win their cases and avoid unnecessary litigation expenses. Some of his notable defense victories include:

Stewart vs. Mason, D. Me., No. 1:21-CV-00321-LEW (Mar. 1, 2023) – After successfully moving to dismiss the plaintiff’s medical malpractice claims based on the plaintiff’s failing to comply with the Maine Health Security Act, (Stewart vs. Mason, D. Me., No. 1:21-CV-00321-LEW (June 6, 2022)) Chris obtained summary judgment in favor of his client by demonstrating that the plaintiff could not produce any admissible evidence that his client violated the plaintiff’s civil rights.

Higgins v. Humanscale Corp., 2022 WL 19395266 (Mass. Super.) – Chris obtained summary judgment in his client’s favor in a product liability dispute by demonstrating the fact that the plaintiff’s claims against his client rely on surmise and conjecture rather than any admissible evidence against the defendant.

Alfama v. New Westgate Mall., 2022, 2183-CV-00927-DJO (Mass. Super.) – Chris obtained summary judgment in favor of a local shopping mall based on the transitory water doctrine after establishing the fact that the plaintiff could not provide any admissible evidence that the substance that caused her to fall was anything other than melted snow tracked into the mall in the normal course of business.

Ferraro et al., v. Cedarwood Development, LLC et al., 2022, 2021-CV-00024-CKB (Mass. Super.) – Chris obtained a dismissal of all claims against his client in a complex construction case involving alleged damage to structural components of a neighboring property by arguing that the claim was barred by the applicable statute of limitations and that neither the discovery rule nor the Supreme Judicial Court’s COVID order revived the plaintiff’s claims.

Ortiz v. The Railway Café et al., 2021, 1973-CV-00644 (Mass. Super.) – Chris successfully moved to dismiss all of the plaintiff’s claims in a restaurant slip and fall case based on the plaintiff’s repeated failure to comply with his discovery obligations.

Carr-Laquidara v. CircusTrix Holdings, LLC, 505 F. Supp. 3d 16 (D. Mass. 2020) – Chris obtained a dismissal of all claims against his client in a complex quadriplegic injury case based on the Court’s lack of jurisdiction over the defendant. The statute of limitations expired shortly after the plaintiff filed the complaint, preventing the plaintiff from refiling the complaint in another jurisdiction.

Chris is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, where he majored in political science and minored in Mandarin Chinese. After graduating from the Academy, Chris began his career as an Air Force acquisition officer. In this role, Chris participated in all aspects of the government contracting process, from drafting contract specifications to leading source selection evaluations for various weapon system development efforts. During this time, Chris also obtained a Master of Science in Business Administration and Management degree from Boston University and his Juris Doctor degree from New England School of Law. After becoming a Judge Advocate, Chris continued his career in government contracting as the lead contracts attorney for Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.

• Ranked as the Air Force’s top rookie defense counsel for the central U.S.
• Recipient of Trustee’s Scholarship Award awarded to the two students with the highest GPAs per year.
• Awarded the CALI Excellence for Future Awards for excellence in USS Secured Transactions, UCC Negotiable Instruments, Public International Law, Criminal Law, and Criminal Procedure.