Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly articles from July 2008

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly archives from July 2008

As economy stumbles, Mass. law firms treading carefully with hiring.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz This is another in a series in which Lawyers Weekly gauges the impact of the economic downturn on the practice of law in Massachusetts. A month ago today, the news about the U.S. economy seemed grim to the...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 7, 2008.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Damages Punitive damages - Oil spill Punitive damages awarded under maritime common law should be limited to the amount of compensatory damages, and therefore a $5 billion punitive award against...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 7, 2008.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Guilty plea - Judge's participation Where a defendant, who pled guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, seeks to have that guilty plea invalidated, the...

Mass. Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: July 7, 2008.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Prima facie evidence Where an administrative judge of the Division of Industrial Accidents ruled that G.L.c. 152, s.7A does not establish prima facie evidence of a violation...

Massachusetts Appeals Court Published Case Summaries: July 7, 2008.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Domestic relations Divorce - Alimony Where a divorced father has challenged aspects of the divorce decree, a remand must be ordered because of the lower court's apparent consideration of...

Massachusetts Appeals Court Unpublished Case Summaries: July 7, 2008.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Following is the summary of a decision issued by the Appeals Court pursuant to Rule 1:28. In reporting such unpublished decisions, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly reminds readers that they may be...

Massachusetts Superior Courts Case Summaries: July 7, 2008.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Negligence Slip and fall - Snow removal contractor Where a defendant company, under contract to remove snow and ice from a parking lot, seeks summary judgment with respect to a negligence claim...

Other Mass. Agencies: July 7, 2008.(Brief article)
July 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest Payments to highway inspector Where a construction company's project manager paid a Massachusetts Highway Department construction inspector between $2,000 and $3,000,...

Verdicts & Settlements July 7, 2008: Man shot by member of his own hunting party.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1 million settlement The plaintiff and the defendant were both licensed hunters in Massachusetts. On Dec. 1, 2003, the plaintiff and the defendant were among a group of five men who went deer...

Verdicts & Settlements July 7, 2008: Driver's back injuries worsen after rear-end crash.(Brief article)
July 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $250,000 settlement On Sept. 15, 2005, the defendant, who was driving a full-size van, rear-ended the plaintiff's Ford Taurus. There was very little damage to the defendant's van, and, although...

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's most important opinions for first half of 2008.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff This special section contains summaries of more than 100 important opinions that were published in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly during the first half of 2008. The important opinions that ap-pear...

Junk-fax class action lawsuit results in record settlement.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Julia Reischel After six years of litigation, the attorneys in a contentious class action lawsuit over "junk" faxes reached a $1.8 million settlement last month - reportedly the largest telemarketing settlement in Massachusetts to...

Post arbitration, 93A claim barred by Mass. Appeals Court.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Thomas E. Egan The Appeals Court has found that a homeowner could not assert a Chapter 93A claim against a home improvement contractor where he failed to raise such a claim in a prior arbitration proceeding. The homeowner had...

In early picks for bench, Mass. Governor Deval Patrick praised for 'cross-section' plan.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz A year-and-a-half into his term, Gov. Deval L. Patrick has made 15 appointments to the state's appellate and trial courts, and, if there is a discernible pattern in his choices, it is the collective variety in...

Massachusetts School of Law Dean Velvel, what have we here?
July 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff In the tradition of Ohio congressman and erstwhile Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, who last month sponsored a resolution to impeach President George W. Bush (only to have House...

The heat is on: Middlesex Superior Court rules Cambridge attorney duped his neighbors.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff A Superior Court judge has found that a Cambridge attorney should have known better when it came to pilfering more than $64,000 worth of heat from his building's neighbors. At the conclusion...

Executive of Mass. Judicial Nominating Commission Cathy Judd-Stein leaves the governor's office.(Brief article)
July 7, 2008... Gov. Deval L. Patrick's office of legal counsel has assumed smaller dimensions with the recent loss of several longtime staffers, notably Cathy M. Judd-Stein, deputy counsel and executive director of the Judicial Nominating Commission. ...

Verdicts & Settlements July 7, 2008: Driver's back injuries worsen after rear-end crash.(Brief article)
July 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $250,000 settlement On Sept. 15, 2005, the defendant, who was driving a full-size van, rear-ended the plaintiff's Ford Taurus. There was very little damage to the defendant's van, and,...

Commentary: To senders of unprofessional e-mails, just say NOTHNX.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Gretchen Neels In Do the Right Thing, Boston-based consultant Gretchen Neels offers advice on professional etiquette and other behavioral issues that might arise in a law practice. Q. E-mail communication is getting more casual...

Commentary: How to break the ice when 'cold calling'.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll The "next big thing" may be firms adding licensed attorneys whose job it is to perform sales. But many lawyers lack either the professional insight or the plan necessary for success with the toughest job in sales: cold...

Notices From The Massachusetts Court: July 7, 2008.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT FOR THE COMMONWEALTH ANNOUNCEMENT THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT IS SOLICITING AMICUS BRIEFS OR MEMORANDA FROM INTERESTED PARTIES IN THE FOLLOWING MATTER PENDING...

Commentary: Fagan and Jessica's Law: Has the storm settled?
July 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Editorial By now, the sight of state Rep. James Fagan railing about how sex-abuse victims will be treated in future Massachusetts trials is a distant, fading link on YouTube. But what happens...

Commentary: Massachusetts venue and the Business Litigation Section.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Irwin B. Schwartz and Michael G. Andrews While the Business Litigation Session is widely respected and regarded as successful, it is surprising that many business disputes filed in the commonwealth have no presumptive access to it....

District Court/BMC Appellate Division Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Corporate Individual liability Where plaintiff homeowners, alleging shoddy remodeling work by the defendant corporation, sought relief against the codefendant individuals, the individual...

Mass. Land Courts Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.(Brief article)
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Zoning Special permit Where the Waltham zoning board has granted a defendant a special permit to convert a two-family home into a three-family residence, I hold that the decision should be...

Mass. Probate & Family Court Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Wills and trusts Testamentary capacity - Undue influence Where the proponent of a 2001 will has failed to meet his burden of showing that the testatrix had testamentary capacity and was not...

District Court/BMC Trial Division Case Summaries:.(Brief article)
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Contract Settlement agreement - Breach allegation Where a plaintiff has filed claims of promissory estoppel, breach of contract, violation of G.L.c. 93A, and misrepresentation against a...

Mass. Appellate Tax Board Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Taxation Commercial real estate Where the owner of commercial real estate in Cambridge seeks a real estate tax abatement, that request should be granted because the subject properties were...

Med-mal cases are risky business.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Jeannie Greeley You can't fault attorney Andrew M. Abraham for having confidence in his client's case. After all, the client was hit by a woman who was literally drinking and driving, a bottle of wine between her legs as she tried...

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's most important opinions for first half of 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Jury and jurors Extrinsic information - Absent codefendants Where a jury convicted five defendants of participating in a multi-drug conspiracy, the convictions of two of these...

Post-trial, Entwistle team fires back at lawyes who offered commentary.
July 14, 2008... Byline: David E. Frank Less than three weeks after a Middlesex County jury found their client guilty of killing his wife and 9-month-old daughter, Neil Entwistle's defense attorneys are speaking out about the "shameful" media coverage...

Search for U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Somma's replacement extends beyond bankruptcy bar.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Julia Reischel As it seeks a replacement for U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Somma -- who stepped down from the bench in May following a controversial drunk-driving incident -- the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is breaking...

Commentary: How I learned to stop worrying and tolerate those Yankees fans.
July 14, 2008... Byline: David Yas I thought Red Sox fans were no longer miserable. But last week in Falmouth District Court, there was Robert D. Correia, accused of using a bat to beat a man he allegedly thought was a New York Yankees fan. ...

Leader of Mass. Clerk-Magistrates Association vows battle on salary 'decoupling'.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz The president of the statewide Clerk-Magistrates Association is promising a vigorous lobbying effort by his organization to preserve a system of compensation that pays court clerks a salary equal to 82 percent of...

Facebook-ed: Negative fallout from Facebook account subject of criminal case in Massachusetts.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report The negative fallout from a Facebook account gone bad is to be the subject of an unusual criminal case in Hingham District Court later this month. In what is believed to be the first...

Victor-ious yet again: Medford attorney Victor Garo to be honored by American Bar Assn.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Medford attorney Victor C. Garo, who represented wrongly convicted murderer Joseph Salvati pro bono for nearly 30 years, will be honored for his efforts at this summer's meeting of the...

Land that he loves: Mass. Land Court Judge Leon Lombardi to retire in August.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Land Court Judge Leon J. Lombardi recalls well some guidance given him by his predecessor on that court, John E. Fenton Jr. It was 1995, and Lombardi was leaving the Boston firm known then...

(Hot) dog days of summer: Fight breaks out over hot-dog vendor across from Worcester court complex.(Brief article)
July 14, 2008... When the newly built Worcester Regional Justice Center opened on Main Street last year, it did not house a cafeteria. It was hoped that the lack of an in-court eatery would spur lawyers, litigants and staffers to patronize downtown Worcester...

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Legislative News Briefs: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Fed bill extends jobless benefits Gov. Deval L. Patrick has authorized Massachusetts to accept federal funds made available under a federal bill that will allow extended unemployment...

Mass. Probate Court seeks public comment on amendments to rules.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Chief Justice Carey would like to solicit public comment until August 4, 2008. Written comments may be submitted to: Probate and Family Court Administrative Office Two Center Plaza...

USDC for District of Mass. mulls changes to 'plan' for disposition of criminal cases.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report PUBLIC NOTICE REGARDING MODIFICATIONS TO THE PLAN FOR PROMPT DISPOSITION OF CRIMINAL CASES The Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts are...

Written discovery order proposed by Mass. Superior Court.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Chief Justice Barbara J. Rouse of the Superior Court invites comments on a Proposed Standing Order on Written Discovery. The Proposed Standing Order can be found on the Superior Court link...

Commentary: Mental capacity: what standard applies?
July 14, 2008... Byline: Mark E. Swirbalus In its recent decision in Maimonides School v. Coles, the Appeals Court may have added a wrinkle to the question of what standard applies in determining the required mental capacity of a person executing estate...

Commentary: The taxing matter of taxing legal services.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll In the 1960s, the Beatles were all for peace and love -- until they had to contend with Britain's then-draconian tax rates on the wealthy. The result was the nasty little song, Taxman: Be thankful I don't want it all...

Newburyport firm hits bull's-eye in Bulfinch building.(Interview)
July 14, 2008... Byline: Noah Schaffer The Alternate Route takes readers into law firms that have chosen to put down stakes outside of downtown Boston. This week, reporter Noah Schaffer speaks with James T. Connolly, a partner at Connolly & Connolly in...

Commentary: In 'Freedom,' Anthony Lewis talks persuasively of speech, role of press.
July 14, 2008... Byline: John Taylor Williams Reviewers often withhold their opinion until the last paragraph, but that seems senseless when the author, in this case Anthony Lewis, has provided lawyers and laymen alike with a tour de force review of the...

Commentary: Reforming the Homestead Act.(Brief article)
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Editorial Anyone who owns a home in Massachusetts has a vested interest in the Homestead Act and should welcome its overhaul. The law presently produces a great deal of confusion. Registers of...

Commentary: Courts are part of access-to-justice problem.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Mark D. Stern The report submitted to the Supreme Judicial Court earlier this year by the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission covers many important bases, but there is another one that deserves discussion. Access depends...

Mass. Lawyers in the News: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report New associations Roger A. Lane has joined Pepper Hamilton in Boston as a partner. Anne Marie Longobucco has joined Birnbaum & Godkin in Boston as counsel. Minita Shah has...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Jury and jurors Extrinsic information - Absent codefendants Where a jury convicted five defendants of participating in a multi-drug conspiracy, the convictions of two of these defendants must be...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Discrimination - Retaliation Where a plaintiff employee has filed a number of claims against the defendant, her former employer, and a codefendant supervisor, alleging that she resigned...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Social services Developmental disabilities - Agreement Where a plaintiff class of individuals with mental retardation or other developmental disabilities -- who reside in nursing facilities and...

Mass. Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Taxation Charitable exemption Where a plaintiff nonprofit organization providing housing for individuals with head injuries sought a charitable exemption from real estate taxes, a judge erred in...

Mass. Appeals Court Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Search and seizure Public school Where a public school student moved for the suppression of evidence found during a search conducted by a school administrator, the motion was properly denied on the...

Mass. Appeals Court Unpublished Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Sentencing - Remand Where a defendant was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute heroin, possession with intent to distribute cocaine (second and subsequent offense),...

Mass. Superior Courts Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Securities Fraud - Investments Where a plaintiff has brought a fraud claim alleging that the defendants solicited investment deposits, invested her funds in securities that were high risk (despite...

Mass. Commission Against Discrimination Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Employment Harassment - Discrimination Where a complaint has been filed charging a respondent employer with gender-based harassment and discrimination, the complaint must be dismissed...

Mass. Dept. of Industrial Accidents Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Workers' compensation Recommittal - Limitations Where an administrative judge, addressing an Appeals Court recommittal order, affirmed his earlier award of benefits for a November 11, 1984...

Other Mass. Agencies Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Elections Separate account -Legal expenses Where an individual involved in an ongoing court case related to getting on the ballot has sought guidance regarding the creation of a separate...

Verdicts & Settlements July 14, 2008: Woman develops dangerous antibodies while pregnant.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report $450,000 settlement The patient was diagnosed as pregnant in February 2002, with an estimated delivery date in September. During the course of the pre-natal care provided by the defendants,...

Verdicts & Settlements July 14, 2008: Merchant marine slips aboard tugboat, ruptures disc.(Brief article)
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report $315,000 settlement The plaintiff, a career merchant marine, was flaking line on the deck of a tugboat when the line got hung up and he felt a pop. The plaintiff, whose average yearly wage...

Verdicts & Settlements July 14, 2008: Baby born with serious physical, behavior problems.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report $6 million settlement The son of the plaintiff, now 7, is currently and for the foreseeable future at a residential therapeutic school in Northwester Essex County where he receives...

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Report SJC No. BD-1999-013 IN THE MATTER OF DANIEL J. SUMPTION Reinstatement Hearing The Board of Bar Overseers will hold a public hearing on the petition for reinstatement of Daniel J....

Other Massachusetts State Agencies Case Summaries: July 21, 2008.(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest Former housing authority official Where the former Executive Director of the Randolph Housing Authority approved applications for housing where he and/or his father had...

Verdicts & Settlements July 21. 2008: Doctor treats cancerous breast lump as benign.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $850,000 settlement In March 2003, the plaintiff found a lump in her right breast. About one month later, she went to see her gynecologist, the defendant, concerning the lump. He performed a...

Verdicts & Settlements July 21. 2008: Firefighter sustains shoulder injury in crash.(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $106,500 settlement The plaintiff, a 36-year-old firefighter and contractor, was struck by the defendant's vehicle. As a result of the impact, the plaintiff suffered a below-surface, partial...

Massachusetts bar advocates to be paid on time; Trial Court budget cut.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Noah Schaffer The fiscal 2009 budget recently signed by Gov. Deval L. Patrick eliminates a tradition that bar advocates will not miss: waiting to get paid. The budget appropriates $140 million for private counsel compensation,...

Verdicts & Settlements July 21. 2008: Ironworker diagnosed with closed head injury.(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $167,500 settlement The plaintiff, 61, was working as an ironworker on a construction project. At the time of his injury, he was installing earthquake clips on masonry walls. To install the...

Verdicts & Settlements July 21. 2008: Worker's hand injured by exploding paint can.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Victim later developed related stress disorder $602,000 settlement On Aug. 11, 2005, the 53-year-old plaintiff was installing materials and handling equipment when a subcontractor tipped over...

Verdicts & Settlements July 21, 2008: Officer sues department over offensive postings.(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $400,000 verdict The plaintiff was a 19-year member of the Springfield Police Department. For a period of approximately two years, he was subjected to postings about him in the department. Some of...

Mass. Superior Court Judge Charles R. Grabau retiring after 25 years on the bench.(Massachusetts)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff A mainstay of the Superior Court has decided to end his tenure after nearly a quarter-century. Judge Charles R. Grabau, 60, a member of that court since 1985 -- and, for the previous six...

Quincy attorney writes successful novel about life in the District Court.(Raffi Yessayan's Eight in the Box )
July 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff When Raffi Yessayan was admitted to the bar in 1994, the idea of becoming a Random House novelist seemed far removed from his future. The goal back then was to prosecute the bad guys in Suffolk...

Massachusettsl lawyers 'barter up'.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff At this time of economic uncertainty, some local lawyers are bartering their legal expertise in exchange for goods and services instead of cash. Last month, a self-styled experienced divorce...

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly most important opinions for July 21.
July 21, 2008... Insurance Fishing vessel - Inadequate coverage Where a plaintiff fishing boat owner claims that the defendant insurer breached a duty to recommend an adequate level of Protection & Indemnity coverage, an award of summary judgment for the...

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's same-sex consortium ruling gets mixed reaction.(Case overview)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A recent Supreme Judicial Court ruling that same-sex couples cannot bring loss-of-consortium actions stemming from claims that arose before gay marriage became legal in Massachusetts could pose a potential obstacle...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 21, 2008.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Editor's note: The full text of these decisions can be found on Lawyers Weekly's website, www.masslawyersweekly.com Insurance Fishing vessel - Inadequate coverage Where a plaintiff fishing...

U.S. District Court Opinions: July 17, 2008.(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Arbitration clauses - Unconscionability Where (1) the plaintiffs, current and former franchisees of a defendant company providing janitorial services through franchise agreements with...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Opinions: July 17, 2008.(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Habeas corpus Exhaustion Where a prison inmate has filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, his petition should be denied because he has not exhausted his state remedies. Barr v. Hodgson...

Massachusetts Bankruptcy Appellate Panel Decisions: July 17, 2008.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Credit card - Successor Where debtors objected to an appellant's proof of claim with respect to an unpaid credit card balance, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge acted correctly by...

Massachusetts Superior Court judge rules e-mail exchange on counsel fees binding.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Eric T. Berkman An exchange of e-mails between opposing counsel constituted a binding agreement that the prevailing party would be entitled to attorneys' fees, even though the lawyer for the non-prevailing party stated in one of...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: July 21, 2008.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Homestead exemption - Residual trust Where a Chapter 7 debtor has claimed a homestead exemption in both a life estate and in her interest in a trust which holds the residual interest, an...

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: July 21, 2008.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Editor's note: The full text of these decisions can be found on Lawyers Weekly's website, www.masslawyersweekly.com Negligence Consortium - Same-sex couple Where a judgment was entered for the...

Massachusetts Appeals Court Case Summaries: July 21, 2008.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Editor's note: The full text of these decisions can be found on Lawyers Weekly's website, www.masslawyersweekly.com Contract Settlement - Counsel fees - E-mails Where (1) a jury found for the...

Massachusetts Superior Court proposal alters discovery landscape.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil litigators and judges - including the head of the Business Litigation Session - say a proposed Superior Court standing order on written discovery would significantly change the way attorneys...