In Fannie Mae v. Branch, after a long and complicated litigation involving two Appeals Court decisions, the SJC recently ruled that an appeal of a summary process (i.e., eviction) claim was not rendered moot by a bidder’s transfer of its interests in the property at...
SJC Upholds Clickwrap Agreement to Arbitrate Earlier this year, a posting in The Fitch Briefs previewed an issue before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) concerning clickwrap agreements – specifically, whether an online Uber clickwrap agreement to...
What is the Standard for a Complaint for Modification for Child Custody? In Erhartic v. Erhartic (Memo and Order Rule 23.0 Decision July 26, 2024), the Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed the Probate and Family Court’s decision to maintain joint legal custody, order...
In a rare intersection of banking and financial services law with geopolitics, Vladislav Klyushin—a wealthy Russian businessman convicted for financial crimes by a federal jury in Boston last year—was released as part of a prisoner swap between Russia and the West...
In a recent unpublished opinion, Mackey v. Santander Bank, N.A., the Appeals Court vacated the Superior Court’s decision to declare valid a mortgage on a former marital home after the mortgagor, Santander Bank, was provided with a trustee certificate by the...
Earlier this month, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy signed into law an amendment to the Registered Land Act that will allow owners of registered land to withdraw from the cumbersome Land Registration System. In Massachusetts, there are two title systems for land:...
The Appeals Court of Massachusetts recently vacated a judgment totaling almost $65,000,000 on the grounds the alleged unfair and deceptive acts of the defendants did not occur primarily in Massachusetts and that the trial judge allowed prejudicially erroneous jury...
In Massachusetts, the Prompt Pay Act provides protections to subcontractors who perform work pursuant to certain construction contracts. Under the Act, contractors are required to approve or reject payment applications by subcontractors within specified time limits...
The Appeals Court decision of Howard v. Howard underscores the significance of effective co-parenting and civility during custody disputes. In this case, the parties continued to live together in the marital home with their four children following the Mother’s filing...
The United States Supreme Court has overruled its 1984 decision in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. NRDC., which required courts to uphold an agency’s interpretation of a federal statute so long as that interpretation was reasonable. Writing for the Court, Chief Justice...
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