Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly articles from September 2007

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly archives from September 2007

Commentary: Lunch Box: Intrigue.(Intrigue Cafe)(Restaurant review)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Intrigue 70 Rowes Wharf Boston (617) 856-7744 Lunch served daily Hinting at what awaits a visitor to the ground-floor cafe at the Boston Harbor Hotel, the path to the restaurant takes one...

Verdicts & Settlements September 3, 2007: Supervisor dies after mechanical lift accident.(Case overview)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $2.75 million settlement On Nov. 30, 2003, the 53-year-old decedent employee was killed at his place of work while attempting to fix a jam on a malfunctioning mechanical lift when it suddenly...

Verdicts & Settlements September 3, 2007: Man slips at restaurant, blames grease deposit.(Johnny Rockets Restaurant)(Narbonne v. Peabody Rockets Partners, et al.)(North Shore Mall)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Defense verdict The plaintiff claimed that on Nov. 7, 2000, he slipped and fell on restaurant grease located on a cement sidewalk in front of the Johnny Rockets Restaurant located at the North...

Verdicts & Settlements September 3, 2007: Corporation, former employee dispute severance.(Correlagen Diagnostics, Inc. v. Dieterle)(Case overview)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Ruling for plaintiff/counter-defendant Action arose out of a July 2004 written agreement concerning the severance of the employment relationship between Correlagen Diagnostics, Inc. and one of...

Verdicts & Settlements September 3, 2007: Man's skull fractured in drunk-driving accident.(Case overview)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $980,000 settlement In June 2004, the 20-year-old plaintiff was a passenger in a vehicle that was struck head-on by the defendant drunk driver. The collision was so violent that both vehicles...

Verdicts & Settlements September 3, 2007: Patient paralyzed, loses leg after surgery delay.(Case overview)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $2 million settlement The 62-year-old plaintiff patient had an indwelling epidural catheter for pain relief following an endarterectomy in his groin. A day after the catheter was removed, the...

Verdicts & Settlements September 3, 2007: Drunk driver kills motorist in multi-car crash.(Jean Olson, Administratrix of the Estate of Ronald Olson Jr. v. Donald Warren and Mac-Man, Inc.)(Case overview)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $2 million verdict On March 14, 2004, just after midnight, the plaintiff's decedent, a 22 year-old, healthy college student planning to attend law school or graduate school, was killed...

Mass. Appeals Court Case Summaries: September 3, 2007.(Case overview)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Supreme Judicial Court No. BD-2007-046 IN RE: ENOCH O'D WOODHOUSE II Last known address: 59 Temple Place - Suite 310 Boston, MA 02111 S.J.C. Order of Term Suspension entered by Justice...

Critical report on Mass. Medical Examiner's Office could assist defense bar.
September 3, 2007... Byline: David E. Frank Criminal defense lawyers say that several findings in a scathing report released in July regarding the state's much-maligned Medical Examiner's Office will pay immediate dividends in the courtroom. Particularly...

Mass. Court of Appeals rules notice of injury four months following hit-and-run timely.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer A rental car driver who reported being in a hit-and-run collision the day after the accident occurred may recover uninsured motorist benefits, even where he did not report any injuries at the time, the Appeals Court...

Revamping labor relations agencies in Mass.(Labor Relations Commission)(Board of Conciliation and Arbitration)(Joint Labor Management Committee)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz Union, management lawyers warily eye effort to revamp state's labor relations agencies Legislation that would bring sweeping changes to an entrenched system of processing management-labor disputes in the...

Governor's Council grills SJC hopeful in Mass.(Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts)
September 3, 2007... Byline: David E. Frank Joined by a standing-room-only crowd of judges, clerks and former colleagues, Superior Court Judge Margot Botsford appeared before the Governor's Council last Wednesday in her confirmation hearing for a seat on the...

Mass. Judicial Vacancies: September 2007.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff APPEALS COURT Deadline: Sept. 17, 2007 * Judge BOSTON MUNICIPAL COURT Deadline: Oct. 15, 2007 * Charlestown Division, judge DISTRICT COURT Deadline: Sept. 5, 2007...

Keeping the comma out of my hourly rates: Why I moved to a smaller firm to keep my clients.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Roger C. Zehntner A recent Wall Street Journal article ("Lawyers Gear Up Grand New Fees," Aug. 22) examines the dismaying trend of big-city law firms breaking the $1,000-per-hour billing threshold. The article reminded me once...

Commentary: Let the games begin and the rules end.(policies in high school sports)(Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association v. Brentwood Academy)(Viewpoint essay)
September 3, 2007... Byline: James J. Marcellino I must have too much time on my hands. The Boston Globe not long ago reported on the U.S. Supreme Court's upholding of limits on high school sports recruiting -- a decision rendered, not surprisingly, in the...

Mass. Appellate Tax Board Case Summaries: September 3, 2007.(Commissioner of Revenue)(Kaligian, et al. v. Board of Assessors of the Town of Lexington)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Taxation Corporation - Sham transaction Where the Commissioner of Revenue assessed additional tax liability based on a finding that a corporation had engaged in a sham transaction, the...

District Court/BMC Appellate Division Case Summaries: September 3, 2007.(Ruth Davis v. Corinne Davis)(Owens General Contracting, Inc. v. Abdrzej Grzyb)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Consideration Where a plaintiff brought suit to enforce a 2004 promise by the defendant (her former mother-in-law) to pay the plaintiff $40,000, judgment was properly entered for...

Mass. Appeals Court Case Summaries: September 3, 2007.(Town of Eastham v. Chaves)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Judgments affirmed Town of Eastham v. Chaves (Lawyers Weekly No. 81-740-07) (5 pages) (appeal of a summary judgment granted to the plaintiff town in a zoning case) (No. 06-P-1421)...

Mass. Dept. of Industrial Accidents: September 3, 2007.(Leanne Manzanero)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Cross-appeals - Award of closed period and ongoing benefits Where a self-insurer has appealed a decision awarding an employee a closed period of workers' compensation...

Mass. Labor Relations Commission Case Summaries: September 3, 2007.(Boston School Committee and Boston Teachers Union)(Stoneham Teachers Association MTA/NEA and DeBenedetto-O'Leary)(American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor Prohibited practice - Retaliation Where a teachers' union has filed a prohibited practice charge alleging that a school committee illegally retaliated against a union member for...

Commentary: Many positives come out of sad Cape case.(Ann Gryboski murdered husband Patrick Lancaster)(Cape and Islands)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff When the initial images of a black-and-blue Ann Gryboski appeared on television and in the newspapers, no one was thinking "murderer" -- not with the facts that accompanied the photos. Even...

Commentary: Dispatches from the road as the courthouse march rolls on.(a visit to 100 Massachussets courthouses)
September 3, 2007... Byline: David Yas For those just tuning in, I am in the midst of a crusade to visit 100 Massachusetts courthouses before the year is out. With 63 down and 37 to go, I still have a lot of work ahead. Here are some notes from the road and...

Living up to its name.(non-disclosure of information by the US Secret Service)(Brookline Fire Department)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff A couple of Boston lawyers recently learned firsthand that, when it comes to litigation, the "secret," as in the Secret Service, is a well-earned appellation. In representing a group of...

Berkshire Superior Court rules cemetery may be as much about living life as honoring the dead.(use of cemetery as park )(Massachusets Recreational Use Statute)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To many mere mortals, a graveyard would hardly seem to be a place of recreation. But a recent decision by a Berkshire Superior Court judge suggests that a cemetery may be as much about living life...

Cruelty to greyhounds perpetuated by casino proposals.(Committee to Protect Dogs)(Letter to the editor)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: Lost in the debate over casino-style gambling is its terrible impact on greyhound dogs (Editorial: "Casinos? Let's see all the cards first," Aug. 13). Since 2002, the year...

Mass. Commission Against Discrimination Case Summaries: September 3, 2007.(Massasoit Community College)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Damages Supplemental fees Where a complainant is seeking to recover the counsel fees and expenses he incurred from June 14, 2002 (the date he requested an award of counsel fees and costs...

Other Mass. Agencies Case Summaries: September 3, 2007.(Francis Marchand of Westborough State Hospital fined by State Ethics Commission)(Kelly O'Bryan of NARAL Pro-Choise Massachusetts)(Office of Campaign & Political Finance)(Kevin O'Reilly)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest Involvement in hiring brother-in-law Where the Westborough State Hospital Director of Maintenance and Engineering involved himself in the process through which his...

Mass. Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: September 3, 2007.(Eric Brown)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal First-degree murder - Competency Where a defendant has appealed his two convictions for first-degree murder, we conclude that the appeals must be rejected because (1) a judge...

Mass. Superior Courts Case Summaries: September 3, 2007.(Luis Bizarria, et al. v. Presidential Development Corporation, et al.)(Commonwealth v. Franklin)(John Edwards v. Athena Capital Advisors, Inc.)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Consumer protection P&S agreement Where defendant land sellers breached a purchase and sale agreement with the plaintiff buyers and made misrepresentations to them, the defendants engaged...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: September 3, 2007.(New Seabury Co. Limited Partnership)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Signage - Stipulation Where a defendant resort owner failed to abide by the signage provisions in a stipulation with a plaintiff real estate broker, the plaintiff should be...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: September 3, 2007.(Carl Anderson v. Comcast Corp)(United States v. Gary Brown)(United States v. Evans Etrons Stroman)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Severability Where a defendant cable company seeks arbitration of a plaintiff customer's complaint, the request should be allowed, but with that portion of the arbitration...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: September 3, 2007.(New England Carpenters Health Benefits Fund)(Todd Carta)(Alex Delgado v. Kathleen M. Dennehy)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial Class action - 'Average wholesale price' Where plaintiffs allege that the defendants engaged in a racketeering enterprise to state in a fraudulent manner the "average wholesale...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: September 3, 2007.(Wen Y. Chiang)(Bienvinido I. Lugo Marchant)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial Debt collection - Credit card Where a plaintiff has brought suit against the defendant credit card company under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, that claim should be...

Massachusetts Lawyers in the News: September 3, 2007.(American College of Civil Trial Mediators)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations John T. Gutkoski has joined the Boston office of Foley & Lardner as a partner. Eduardo A. Gonzalez and Erica B. Mecler have joined the Boston office of Adler, Pollock &...

Boston attorney Edward I. Masterman is masterman of his fate.(Masterman, Culbert & Tully's Ed Masterman has his own legacy)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff After a quarter-century at the Boston waterfront firm of Masterman, Culbert & Tully, founded by his father, Edward I. Masterman, 52-year-old James D. Masterman has jumped ship and landed at the...

Commentary: Type ethically, blog carefully.(Viewpoint essay)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll The CEO of a major food retailer recently unleashed a firestorm when it was revealed that for years he had blogged under a pseudonym about his company and competitors. He contends that he was merely expressing...

Commentary: Write for your reader, not for yourself.(constructing legal briefs and memoranda)(Viewpoint essay)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Kathleen Elliott Vinson Write On is an occasional feature providing guidance to attorneys on writing legal memoranda and briefs. Good writing can have a positive impact on your reader in a short amount of time if you guide the...

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: September 10, 2007.(George H. Nason)(John M. Beatrice)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff SJC No. BD-2007-047 IN RE: GEORGE H. NASON Last known address: P.O. Box 680962 Franklin, TN 37068 S.J.C. Judgment of Disbarment entered by Justice Ireland on August 1, 2007 SUMMARY...

Commentary: Corporate criminal penalties are mere toothless tigers now.(Viewpoint essay)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Last month we learned that a special investigation into the collapse of the Interstate 90 connector tunnel produced three corporations that Attorney General Martha Coakley deemed potentially...

Big Boston firms bulk up with dining-in facilities.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz Out to lunch. The well-worn phrase, in its literal sense, is not heard much these days around big Boston law firms where employees, increasingly pressed for time, are taking advantage of in-house dining...

Commentary: Botsford's a hippie and other delusions from Councilor Mary-Ellen Manning.(Margot Botsford)(Viewpoint essay)
September 10, 2007... Byline: David Yas Sorry, Mary-Ellen Manning, but that's it. You're out of the club. Persona non grata. Please collect your belongings and get off this train that is our legal community. You are no longer welcome here. "It is the...

Nixon Peabody celebration song leaked to Internet sites.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff There's no word yet on whether a Grammy nomination will follow, but the firm of Nixon Peabody has already made some significant -- although apparently unwanted -- waves in the music industry. ...

Boston lawyers not yet charging $1000 an hour.(Brief article)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff With news that big-time attorneys in New York are now charging their clients $1,000 an hour, are Boston lawyers ratcheting up their fees as well? "I have not yet encountered a Boston lawyer...

Shocked by column on discounting fees.(Letter to the editor)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: I found Edward Poll's column on discounting fees shocking and irresponsible ("Coach's Corner: Digging out of discounting hole," Aug. 27). I am certain that some...

Commentary: 'Irresponsible' for Legislature to delay bar-advocate payments.(Brief article)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The following is a copy of a letter faxed to Rep. Robert A. DeLeo, D-Revere, which was also sent to Lawyers Weekly for publication. Dear Rep. DeLeo: Court-appointed attorneys have not been...

Emotional distress claim premised on headaches upheld by District Court's Appellate Division.(Alex and Maggie Pizzochero v. Nicholas and Constance Vergados)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A home buyer who claimed he suffered headaches and nausea from sewage in the basement of his new house could sue the sellers for negligent infliction of emotional distress, even where he never sought medical...

Massachusetts IOLTA funds skyrocket in first half of 2007.(Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts Committee)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer A recent change in the rules governing banks that safeguard Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts has resulted in a doubling of IOLTA funds for the first six months of 2007. The IOLTA Committee, which relies on the...

Lawyer: Hampden Housing Court decision could deter real estate investors.(City of Springfield Code Enforcement v. Concerned Citizens for Springfield, Inc., et al.)
September 10, 2007... Byline: David E. Frank The attorney for a property manager who was ordered to pay more than $1 million in tenant relocation and maintenance costs says a judge's unprecedented decision to pierce the corporate veil in a state sanitary code...

Judicial Vacancies.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff APPEALS COURT Deadline: Sept. 17, 2007 * Judge BOSTON MUNICIPAL COURT Deadline: Oct. 15, 2007 * Charlestown Division, judge DISTRICT COURT Deadline: Oct. 15, 2007...

Massachusetts Division of Insurance to hold hearing.(Private Passenger Motor Vehicle Insurance Rates regulation)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation DIVISION OF INSURANCE NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Pursuant to the provisions of M.G.L. c. 30A, and in...

Massachusetts Legal Obituaries: September 10, 2007.(Obituary)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff George L. Garfinkle, who once got an innocent man freed from prison, died Aug. 27 of esophageal cancer at his home in Brookline. He was 72. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Garfinkle studied...

Commentary: The battle over moose logos and other news from the IP front.(Christopher Phelps & Associates LLC v. Galloway)(Moose Creek Inc.)(Donald Hutchins)(Intellectual Property)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Kirk Teska Home and building plans are copyrighted, so don't use them without a license. Wayne Galloway saw a house he liked in another neighborhood, got the plans from the owner of the house and built his own house according...

Commentary: Estate planning rules in Mass. are leaving pets out in the cold.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Dennis R. Delaney You may have heard that recently deceased hotel magnate Leona Helmsley left her beloved dog -- a Maltese named "Trouble" -- a $12 million trust fund to ensure that the canine would be able to continue living her...

Mass. Appellate Tax Board Case Summaries: September 10, 2007.(TJX Companies, Inc. v. Commissioner of Revenue )(Kaligian, et al. v. Board of Assessors of the Town of Lexington)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Taxation Corporation - Sham transaction Where the Commissioner of Revenue assessed additional tax liability based on a finding that a corporation had engaged in a sham transaction, the...

District Court/BMC Appellate Division Case Summaries: September 10, 2007.(Pizzochero, et al. v. Vergados, et al.)(Amari v. Plymouth Rock Assurance Corp.)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance G.L.c. 93A - PIP Where a plaintiff chiropractor brought a G.L.c. 93A action after the defendant insurance company refused to pay for all of the services the plaintiff rendered...

Mass. Appeals Court Case Summaries: September 10, 2007.(Albemarle Realty Corporation v. Planning Board of Framingham)(Hansen v. Getchell, trustee, et al.)(Kingsley v. Neumeier)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals SJC ruling Where a plaintiff has appealed from a Superior Court judgment, the case must be remanded in light of the Supreme Judicial Court's decision in Devine v. Nantucket, 449...

Mass. Probate & Family Court Case Summaries: September 10, 2007.(Blackhawk, Xavier, et al.)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Parent and child Custody - Grandparents Where (1) the mother of two children died as a result of a bridge collapse in Minnesota, (2) at the time of her death, the children were living in...

Mass. Superior Court Case Summaries: September 10, 2007.(O'Connor, et al. v. Redstone, et al.)(Commonwealth v. Cirignano)(Boston Teachers Union, Local 66, MFT AFT, AFL-CIO v. City of Boston School Committee, et al.)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Corporate Redemptions - Limitations Where plaintiffs have brought suit charging malfeasance on the part of the defendants in connection with stock redemptions, the complaint must be...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: September 10, 2007.(Tavares, Tony R., et al.)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Attorney - Motion to alter or amend Where an attorney has moved to alter or amend an order of this court, the motion should be allowed with respect to four of the order's...

1st U.S. Circuit Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: September 10, 2007.(Diaz-Ramos v. Hyundai Motor Co., et al.)(Gencarelli, Louis A., Sr.)(Aristud-Gonzalez v. Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico, et al.)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Antitrust Puerto Rico law Where a plaintiff purports to represent a class of injured persons in a suit brought against a defendant car manufacturer pursuant to Puerto Rico law, an order...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: September 10, 2007.(Harrington v. CACV of Colorado LLC, et al.)(Neurontin Marketing and Sale Practices Litigation )(Taylor, et al. v. Airco, Inc., et al. )
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice FDCPA - Limitations Where a plaintiff filed suit on July 14, 2006 claiming a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, that claim must be dismissed insofar as it...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: September 10, 2007.(Campbell v. Chadbourne, et al.)(Brief article)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Habeas corpus Detention - Exhaustion Where a habeas corpus petitioner, who entered this country as a refugee, challenges his detention by the Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of...

Massachusetts Lawyers in the News: September 10, 2007.(Brief article)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Todd Shepherd Holbrook has joined the Boston office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius as a partner. Gibson & Behman of Burlington has been named general counsel to the...

Boston Seaport District firms setting sail.(relocation of Cetrulo & Capone)(Donovan Hatem)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff At least two Boston law firms that dropped anchor in the city's Seaport District in the early 2000s and leased space in office buildings that few others, as of then, would consider are in the...

Commentary: Coach's Corner: Technology, timing speed up payments.(best practices in collection of legal fees)(Viewpoint essay)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll Recently, I moderated an American Bar Association panel discussion on financial best practices. Not surprisingly, the best practice that all the participants agreed on was that lawyers and law firms need to get their...

How to...(find a good business hotel)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff How to... offers advice on a variety of subjects related to the management of a law practice. As lawyers' client bases expand globally, law firms are increasingly hosting out-of-town clients for...

Infor(u)mal Survey.(lawyer's fees)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Lawyers Weekly asked members of Massforum, Lawyers Weekly's online Listserv, to weigh in on a recent Wall Street Journal article that some lawyers in New York City are charging $1,000 an hour....

Verdicts & Settlements September 10, 2007: Motorcyclist injured after swerving from truck.(Case overview)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $475,000 settlement On July 22, 2004, the plaintiff was riding his motorcycle in the left lane when a tow truck, operated by the defendant, cut across the plaintiff's lane. In an effort to...

Verdicts & Settlements September 10, 2007: Liability disputed when woman dies at hospital.(Case overview)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $3.5 million settlement On Sept. 7, 2000, a 35-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital under the care of her primary care physician with a presumptive, but erroneous, diagnosis of a...

Verdicts & Settlements September 10, 2007: Man struck in crosswalk rendered quadriplegic.(Salem Commuter Rail station)(Dodge v. Tezel )(Case overview)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $13.12 million verdict On April 30, 2005, the plaintiff walked toward the Salem Commuter Rail station, intending to take a train to visit a friend. He had crossed halfway through Bridge Street...

Verdicts & Settlements September 10, 2007: Accident victim's injury worsens due to ulcer.(Case overview)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $100,000 settlement The 72-year-old plaintiff was an unrestrained passenger in an automobile accident. As a result of the significant injuries sustained in the accident, the plaintiff required...

Verdicts & Settlements September 10, 2007: Motorist killed after vehicle becomes disabled.(Case overview)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $775,000 settlement After his vehicle became disabled at night on an access road to Route 93, the 64-year-old decedent was able to steer it to within one foot of the right guardrail. He then...

Verdicts & Settlements September 10, 2007: Worker's fingers crushed in grinder accident.(Tor Rey USA, Inc.)(Brief article)(Case overview)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Defense verdict On Feb. 18, 2005, a 23-year-old plaintiff from El Salvador sustained a crush injury and amputation to her index finger and thumb while grinding meat and cheese in a Tor Rey...

Commentary: Cross-examination: get to the point in 10 questions or less.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Juliane Balliro There are a few basic rules that apply to all cross-examinations, and, although you may have heard them before, they are so important to the effective cross-exam that they bear repeating. Cross-examination is...

Commentary: Coach's Corner: New-practice tips to ensure success.(sole practitioners)
September 17, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll As I was preparing some remarks for my induction into a consultants' hall of fame on the top 10 lessons I've learned in starting my consulting career, it struck me that these apply equally to a lawyer starting a new...

In-House Call: Q&A with Jonathan L. Moll, Babson College's general counsel.(Interview)
September 17, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff JONATHAN L. MOLL Vice president and general counsel Babson College 231 Forest St. Wellesley In-House Call features interviews with attorneys at Massachusetts-based businesses and non-profit...

Commentary: Seller's Market: A marketing strategy for the ages.(age groups classification)
September 17, 2007... Byline: Audra Callanan Seller's Market offers practitioners information about marketing their skills and services as attorneys. For the first time in American corporate history, four generations are working side by side. Each...

Verdicts & Settlements September 17, 2007: Girl loses eyesight when condition is ignored.(Case overview)
September 17, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.65 million settlement The 6-year-old minor plaintiff presented to her medical group on Aug. 31, 2001, with a four-week history of nausea and headaches so severe that they woke her from...

Verdicts & Settlements September 17, 2007: Mother, daughter hit by van while crossing road.(Case overview)
September 17, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $3 million settlement A 7-year-old girl sustained a severe traumatic brain injury in a motor vehicle/pedestrian accident that occurred on or about Feb. 3, 2006. The minor was being taken to...

Verdicts & Settlements September 17, 2007: Building buyer issued wrong policy by insurer.(Brief article)(Case overview)
September 17, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $200,000 verdict The plaintiff purchased a mixed-use residential/commercial building in Stoughton on Jan. 28, 2003. He instructed an insurance agent at defendant C&S Insurance Agency to...

Verdicts & Settlements September 17, 2007: Couple sues over condition of home's fireplaces.(Edison, et al. v. Petraglia)(Case overview)
September 17, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Defense verdict In 2004, the plaintiffs were in the market to purchase a single family home with a fireplace. They learned of a historic, late-18th century farmhouse on several acres, located...

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: September 17, 2007.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff BBO Public Reprimand No. 2007-14 IN RE: NICOLAS A. GORDON Last known office address: 411 Union Avenue Framingham, MA 01702 Order (public reprimand) entered by the Board June 29, 2007. ...

Commentary: Guide to evidence? Bring us the rules.(rules of evidence)
September 17, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff For Massachusetts lawyers, one step closer to a true set of evidence rules is a good step. The Supreme Judicial Court has in the past rejected efforts to create formal rules of evidence, but...

Commentary: A famous flunker quietly lays down his sword.(Stephen Dunne)
September 17, 2007... Byline: David Yas It happened quietly last week, but I hope you didn't miss it. A man who had filed a lawsuit over a same-sex marriage question on the bar exam dropped his suit and crawled back into his pathetic bubble of misplaced...