In the Alimony Reform Act of 2011, St. 2011, c. 124 ("the Act"), "alimony" is defined as "the payment of support from a spouse, who has the ability to pay, to a spouse in need of support for a reasonable length of time . . . ." G. L. c. 208, § 48. However, because...
Year: 2017
Creative American Arbitration Association (AAA) Procedure Offers Cost-Savings for Three-Arbitrator Panels
The American Arbitration Association ("AAA") has announced on its website that it is offering a "Streamlined Three-Arbitrator Panel Option" for large, complex cases. It's a fresh idea that is worthy of parties' consideration in cases where the rules (see Section...
U.S. Supreme Court Limits Scope of FDCPA.
On June 12, 2017, the United States Supreme Court decided a case captioned Henson v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc., No. 16-349. In an opinion authored by newly-appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch and hailed by the financial services industry, the unanimous Court held that a...
Failure to Record Complaint Requires Dismissal Under Statute of Repose
The Massachusetts Land Court has held that a plaintiff's failure to timely file a copy of a complaint challenging a foreclosure with the registry of deeds, as required by Mass. Gen. Laws c. 244, § 15, requires dismissal of a complaint challenging the subject...
A Notice of Default That Does Not Strictly Comply With Paragraph 22 Of The Mortgage Renders a Foreclosure Sale Void So Long As The Issue Of Noncompliance Was Asserted In Court Before July 17, 2015
The Supreme Judicial Court ("SJC") recently held that its holding in Pinti v. Emigrant Mtge Co., 472 Mass. 226, which was decided on July 17, 2015, "applies in any case where the issue was timely and fairly asserted in the trial court or on appeal before July 17,...
Derivative suits on behalf of LLCs: No futility exception? Not so fast.
Must all derivative suits in Massachusetts be preceded by a written demand that a company take action? No. Members (shareholders) of a limited liability company seeking to bring suit derivatively on behalf of the LLC can do so without written demand. While much has...
Haunted House Hunting and the Duty to Disclose
In a competitive real estate market like Greater Boston's, more homebuyers are agreeing to what previously would have been seen as a draconian contract term: purchasing a home without first conducting an inspection. But today, in a hot seller's market, it may be a...
Signing Certified Mail Receipt Satisfies Requirement to Acknowledge Receipt of Borrower’s Request for Information
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has held, in a matter of first impression, that signing a borrower's certified-mail return receipt can serve as a loan servicer's acknowledgment of receipt of a borrower's written request for information....
Superior Court Denies College’s Attempt to Hold Auditor Liable for Failure to Detect Employee’s Fraud
In an important recent decision in the Business Litigation Session of the Massachusetts Superior Court, Judge Kenneth W. Salinger rejected Merrimack College's attempt to hold its auditor KPMG, LLP liable for its failure to discover an employee's fraud. In Merrimack...
A Parenting Coordinator Can Help Prevent Hostile and Dictatorial Toned Emails Counter-Productive to Effective Co-Parenting
In Leon v. Cormier the MA Appeals Court upheld a contempt judgment against a mother who violated a parenting coordinator's order related to the mother's e-mail communications with the father. Specifically, the parenting coordinator ("PC") ordered that "as a rule,...
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