Earlier this month, the Supreme Judicial Court announced an interim procedure to implement Chapter 254 of the Acts of 2014 -- i.e., a new statute, effective February 2, 2015, which grants attorneys and self-represented litigants the opportunity to participate in juror...
In a decision handed down earlier this month, the Supreme Judicial Court (the "SJC") has held that two foreclosure-related local ordinances enacted by the City of Springfield (the "City") are preempted by existing Massachusetts statutes.In Easthampton Savings Bank...
Naming a mortgage servicer as mortgagee on a statutory right-to-cure notice satisfies the requirements of the Commonwealth's pre-foreclosure right-to-cure statute, according to a recent decision of the Appeals Court. In Haskins v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co, 86...
Helping to prevent possible international parental child abductions is the U.S. Department of State's Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program (CPIAP). CPIAP provides a mechanism for a parent(s) and/or legal guardian(s) to be contacted and alerted when someone...
The Commonwealth's highest court, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, recently answered that question in the affirmative. On September 15, 2014, the Court decided Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association, Inc. v. Tesla Motors MA, Inc., 469 Mass. 675...
This post was written by Jameson C. Billings, a Dartmouth College junior who worked at during the fall of 2014. As we conduct more business over email, electronic contracts are becoming commonplace--and in many cases they are legally...
As with any cross-border endeavor, language barriers can become a hurdle to overcome international arbitration and litigation. The dispute resolution clause in a contract may compel the client to arbitrate or litigate in a country other than their own. Arbitrators,...
The Alimony Reform Act of 2011 provides for alimony to presumptively terminate when a payor reaches full retirement age unless a Court finds that a material change in circumstances has occurred and there is clear and convincing evidence to support an extension of the...
In Maiocco v. Leggs, 32 Mass.L.Rptr. 228 (2014), Judge Robert Gordon considered when a party's right to appeal a decision of the Beacon Hill Architectural Commission terminated. Under 1995 Mass. Acts, Chapter 616, the proponent of a construction project involving...
One of the many advantages of arbitration over litigation is that the parties to a dispute have the opportunity to choose the arbitrator or arbitrators who will decide their claims. The selection of an arbitrator is a critical decision point that necessarily occurs...
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