The Appeals Court recently affirmed a Probate and Family Court judge's decision -- made pursuant to the "second look" doctrine -- to award a wife $400,000 as a substitute for the principal residence that she was to receive according to the letter of the parties'...
The Land Court Department of the Massachusetts Trial Court exists, in part, because issues involving title, easements, and the various other rights in property are complex enough that judges with special expertise are preferable. The Land Court's limited jurisdiction,...
A Massachusetts Superior Court judge recently ruled that, when ABC Corporation merged with and acquired XYZ Corporation, ABC Corporation held XYZ Corporation's attorney-client privilege over pre-merger communications with counsel, even when those communications...
While the American economy has shown tentative signs of stabilization and recovery, the nation's courts continue to grapple with legal questions that emanate from the Great Recession and the bursting of the so-called "housing bubble." In one notable development, the...
In a recent case, the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District handed down a decision involving the question of whether the court or the arbitrator decides if a case involving a class action can be arbitrated when the arbitration agreement is...
The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently upheld the "non-modifiability" of surviving alimony agreements under the Alimony Reform Act of 2011 ("act"). The case is called Lalchandani v. Roddy. Specifically, the court in the Lalchandani case cited to Section 4(c) of the...
LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a certification program that recognizes and promotes environmentally sound building and design practices. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED certification is available not only...
"The litigation process is -- or should be -- a search for the truth." So said a Superior Court judge recently in an opinion allowing a motion to take audiovisual depositions. See Littlewood v. Fed. Realty Investment Trust, et al., 2014 WL 6712468, *1-2 (Mass. Super....
A Massachusetts Superior Court judge has held that the 2008 injunction against foreclosure of certain Fremont Investment & Loan ("Fremont") mortgages did not apply to Fremont mortgages assigned to third parties prior to the entry of the injunction. Moronta v....
A judge recently held that the Massachusetts Superior Court did not have long-arm jurisdiction to hear a defamation claim against several non-residents who allegedly published false, defamatory statements about a Massachusetts resident on the Internet. See Arthur v....
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