The First Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision last week allowing a retaliation lawsuit to proceed because the company's CEO told others that he wanted to "get rid of" an employee, even though there was no evidence that the CEO made those statements directly to...
Year: 2013
Child Traveling Abroad with One Parent
Often we are asked by separated or divorced parents, who are vacationing with their children overseas under the terms of their temporary orders or final judgments, whether a parental consent form or permission letter signed by the non-traveling parent is required....
Mississippi Joins Jurisdictions Approving Contractual Reduction of Check Fraud Reporting Deadline
Mississippi has joined the growing list of jurisdictions that have approved contractual reductions of the one-year reporting deadline for certain check fraud claims found in Uniform Commercial Code ("UCC") section 4-406(f). In Century Construction Co., LLC v....
Motion Practice in the Probate and Family Court
Picture this: it is a Tuesday morning, at 8:30 a.m., and you arrive at the Probate and Family Court with your attorney to appear for a scheduled hearing on a contested motion that you filed. Once you wait on a long line to get through the metal detectors, you enter...
Rule Change: The Revised Commercial Arbitration Rules of the AAA
In an important development, the American Arbitration Association has revised its Commercial Arbitration Rules to include a host of changes that seek to streamline arbitration and make the process more cost-effective and tightly managed. The rules, which can be found...
Federal Circuits Split on Required Action to Effect Rescission under Truth-in-Lending Act
The federal Circuit Courts of Appeal are split on the important question of what is required of a consumer who claims not to have received the proper disclosures from a lender and who wishes to rescind the loan within the three-year period following the closing. The...
Affordable Care Act And Child Support Judgments
Massachusetts laws regarding the care, custody and maintenance of children of divorcing or never-married parents specifically address the issue of health insurance, presumptively placing the burden of providing health coverage for an unemancipated child or children on...
Chancery Confidential: Third Circuit Eliminates Confidential Arbitration
In a rare setback to the growing arbitration field, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down on a 2 to 1 vote Delaware's confidential state-sponsored arbitration program. The Court held that, as with the chancery courts, the public had a First Amendment...
Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure Amended to Provide “Clawback” of Privileged Materials
The Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure govern almost all civil cases in Massachusetts state courts. Next year, new amendments to the Rules will take effect, significantly impacting the discovery process for many state lawsuits. Most of the new amendments govern...
RESPA Qualified Written Requests May Not Be Used to Create Foreclosure Defenses
The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts has held that failure to respond to a purported Qualified Written Request, sent to a loan servicer pursuant to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, 12 U.S.C. 2605 et seq. ("RESPA"), cannot serve...
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