PRACTICES

George F. Burns

George Burns was born in Boston, Massachusetts, raised in Maine, and is admitted to practice in Maine, New Hampshire, and New York. After practicing commercial, corporate, and securities law with Nixon, Hargrave, Devans & Doyle (now Nixon Peabody) in Rochester, New York, he moved back to Maine and began his litigation practice. In 1980, George and another partner started the law firm Burns, Ray, DeLano, Macdonald, which merged with Bernstein Shur in 2001.

George's concentration is on litigation and arbitration of business and construction disputes. He is a member of the firm’s Construction and Litigation Practice Groups, and its Dispute Resolution Group. For over twenty-five years, he has assisted clients in the forest products industry, and represents several trade associations devoted to that industry, including the Northeastern Retail Lumber Association, the Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association, and the National Lumber and Building Materials and Dealers Association.

George's trial and appellate experience has been wide-ranging. In addition to numerous construction cases (involving schools, water and sewage treatment plants, power plants, recreational facilities, bridges, and boats), George has tried cases involving partnership and similar fiduciary duty disputes, insurance coverage issues, antitrust and securities claims. For over twenty-five years he has managed asbestos litigation in Maine for a national client.

Of particular note are:

Establishment before the First Circuit Court of Appeals of the priority of a Maine mechanics lien over an FDIC bank receiver.
Successful defense (zero payment outcomes) of multi-million dollar claims against power plant general contractors and gas turbine manufacturers in both Maine Superior Court and in American Arbitration Association proceedings.
Successful multi-million dollar settlement for an independent power client in federal case alleging breach of a power purchase agreement against major Maine utility.
Jury verdict for breach of supplier contract for major construction component in a sewage plant project (federal); for the defense in Uniform Fraudulent Transfer case (federal, directed verdict); defense verdict for water utility in major property damage case (state); defense verdict in real estate broker liability case (state).
Favorable handling of multi-forum construction litigation regarding a Connecticut hotel project involving complex insurance coverage claims.
Orchestration of advantageous multi-forum settlement of office building claim involving defective exterior cladding supplied by Danish vendor.
Favorable decision for a general contractor before the Maine Department of Transportation regarding a “cardinal change” claim in a major bridge project.
Development of risk management manual for forest products wholesalers and retailers.
Creation and maintenance of claim-free antitrust compliance programs for several trade associations.
Favorable settlement after appeal of a significant arbitration award against a trade association and associated recovery of defense and indemnity costs from a directors’ and officers’ liability insurer who had wrongfully declined a defense.
As family business counsel, restructuring ownership of an important Maine lumber business after initiating family business mediation.
As mediator, settlement of nation-wide product liability litigation involving allegedly defective electrical hardware.
As arbitrator, decisions involving securities claims, engineering errors and omissions, boatbuilder’s liability, marketing contracts, and a large claim for manufacturer’s representative payments.

George has contributed to the drafting of legislation in the areas of securities law and multiple defendant litigation, the latter most recently resulting in the adoption of the so-called "Pierringer" release statute (14 M.R.S.A. Section 163), which enables defendants settling with a plaintiff to achieve outright dismissal from other defendants in the cases.

His publications include "Maine Product Liability Law," National Business Institute, 1986; "Mechanic’s Liens: Some Considerations for Contract Administration," Construction Claims Monthly, 1981; "In Praise of Pierringer: The Legislature Should Codify Pierringer Settlements," Maine Bar Journal, January 1996; "Securities Law in Maine After the Litigation Reform Act of 1995," Maine Lawyer's Review, December 1996; and Maine's New Business Court: The Start of Something Big?, July 2007; "Family Dynamics Consultants and Lawyer-Mediators: Early Intervention Works for Family Businesses" for ABA Dispute Resolution Magazine, Winter 2010.

He has presented numerous seminars and lectures throughout the country on construction law and practice, and on the related areas of insurance, product liability, and Article 2 (Sales) of the Uniform Commercial Code. He co-authored, with Ted Small of Bernstein Shur, the Innocent Sellers Fairness Act now pending before the U. S. Congress, a measure designed to control the liability of sellers of building products who commit no wrongdoing.

George also serves as a trustee and counselor to several prominent Maine family businesses and has endeavored to apply his dispute resolution and business experience to family business environments. He offers family business mediation services in collaboration with Dr. Thomas Davidow of Thomas Davidow & Associates (see: http://www.tdavidow.com/).

For three consecutive years he has lectured on family business and trust issues and related mediation and arbitration techniques before the Attorneys for Family-Held Enterprises (see www.afhe.com). In September, 2008, he was on the faculty of an American Bar Association Teleconference on the topic of a Trusted Advisor Serving as a Trustee (more information here). He has recently co-authored two articles on this topic for the on-line publication, Wealth Strategies Journal, www.wealthstrategiesjournal.com.

His reported cases include Fischbach & Moore, Inc. v. Presteel Corp., 398 A2d 397 (Me. 1978); First Hartford Corp. v. Central Maine Power Co., 425 A. 2d 174 (Me. 1980); York Mutual Insurance Co. of Maine v. Mooers, 415 A.2d 564 (Me. 1980); Cianbro Corporation v. Curran Lavoie, Inc., 814 F. 2d 7 (1st Cir. 1987); Bateman v. FDIC, 970 F. 2d 924 (1st Cir. 1992); and Alexander v. Fairway Villas, 719 A. 2d 103 (Me. 1998).

George is an experienced arbitrator and mediator of business and construction disputes. He serves as a member of the Commercial Panel of the American Arbitration Association, and the Maine Superior Court has appointed him as an arbitrator, mediator, and early neutral evaluator for its Court Alternative Dispute Service (CADRES). He recently served on Chief Justice Saufley's Business and Consumer Docket Advisory Committee.

George is recognized by Best Lawyers in America in the specialties of commercial litigation, corporate law, construction law, alternative dispute resolution, and timber law. He has been AV-rated by Martindale Hubbell for over 20 years. He is listed as a New England Super Lawyer in Construction Law.

EDUCATION

JD, New York University, 1973
BS, International Affairs, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, 1969

AFFILIATIONS

Admitted to practice:
States of Maine, New Hampshire, and New York
Numerous Federal Court Admissions

Member:
Maine State Bar Association
American Bar Association
Cumberland County Bar Association
Maine Bar Foundation, Fellow
American Arbitration Association, Commercial Panel
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Director
The Cumberland Club, Director

PUBLICATIONS

28 Feb 2010 Family Dynamics Consultants and Lawyer-Mediators | ABA Dispute Resolution Magazine
1 Apr 2009 Should a Trusted Advisor Become a Trustee?