Alternative dispute resolution is rightly gaining steam as an efficient, fair mechanism for the resolution of complex business disputes. Many companies are redrafting their standard-form contracts to include mandatory arbitration clauses. This is particularly true for...
Month: July 2015
Child Support When Combined Gross Income Exceeds $250,000
In a recent decision, a panel of the Massachusetts Appeals Court considered a Probate and Family Court's modification judgment ordering the payment of additional child support that was calculated based upon the portion of the parties' joint income in excess of...
“Managerial Control” Key To Construction Site Negligence Claim
For a viable negligence claim against a construction project management firm, the plaintiff has the burden of showing that the defendant exercised "managerial control" over the manner in which the work was performed when the plaintiff was injured. A recent Suffolk...
CFPB to institute TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule on October 3, 2015
The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) was enacted by Congress in 1974 in order to promote "more effective advance disclosure to home buyers and sellers of settlement costs." 12 U.S.C. § 2601(b)(1). In particular, RESPA requires the issuance of forms to the...
The Fate of Fixtures at the End of a Commercial Lease: Who Pays for Removal?
The obligation of a tenant to remove fixtures and the right of the landlord to recover the cost of removal of fixtures and attendant repairs to the property were the subject of a recent decision by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Robert Gordon in The Wilder Companies,...
Changing the Vocabulary Around Non-Custodial Parenting
In negotiating parenting plans for nearly 20 years, I have gradually eliminated a few different words from my vocabulary. For example, it's been a long time since I've used the words "visit" or "visitation" to describe what a non-custodial parent does when he or she...
Two Appellate Courts Hold That Banks’ Duty of Care to Non-Customers Is Extremely Limited
The United States Courts of Appeals for the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits have added to the significant body of law limiting a bank's duty to non-customers harmed or defrauded by one of the bank's actual customers. The Sixth Circuit reaffirmed that, under Michigan law,...
Translating Written Documents in International Arbitration and Litigation
An inherent challenge of cross-national business endeavors is that, once a deal or business relationship is in place, the actual terms of the contract will be carried out in different countries. Despite the fact that the trans-national agreement or contract was...
Family Law Arbitration
I recently returned from the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Arbitration Training Institute as a Certified Family Law Arbitrator. A few words about family law arbitration: Arbitration falls within the category of alternative dispute resolution ("ADR"). It can...
“A House Divided”: Determining the Disposition of the Martial Home Upon Divorce
Abraham Lincoln has famously stated that "a house divided against itself cannot stand"; and the disposition of the marital home is often one of the most contentious issues in a divorce case. In many cases, the marital home represents the couple's most significant...
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