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...
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...
Can a litigant invoke the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing to assert rights or duties not otherwise explicitly provided for in a contract? Subject to qualifications, the answer seems to be yes, according to a recent Appeals Court decision in Classic...
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a rule banning noncompete agreements. The rule is quite broad—it bans virtually all new noncompete agreements and voids most preexisting noncompete agreements as well. Mounting legal challenges to the new...
Domestic animals, such as dogs, are considered personal property under Massachusetts law. When a romantic relationship ends, what happens to the pet the couple jointly owned? This issue has become increasingly common for couples going through a break-up, particularly...
The Supreme Court is set to rule this term on the constitutionality of funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America, Limited, and the future of the agency...
In a suit brought under the False Claims Act, also called a qui tam action, an individual with knowledge of a past or present fraud committed against the government may bring a suit against an entity on the government’s behalf. In a qui tam action, the government is...
Arbitration is an alternative dispute resolution where the parties agree in advance that any dispute between them will be decided in a private proceeding by a neutral third party called an arbitrator. By signing an arbitration agreement, the parties waive the right to...
Facts and circumstances cannot be overlooked, but in this jurisdiction, the First Circuit, the answer depends on (i) whether the employee—in the posts at issue—engaged in speech as a citizen on a matter of public concern; (ii) a balancing between the employee’s...
In NuVasive, Inc. v. Day, the First Circuit recently affirmed a $1.7M award of damages and attorneys’ fees in a noncompete suit brought by a medical device company against one of its former sales representatives. In the appeal, Timothy Day challenged the district...
Fitch Law Partners LLP reports news and insights on complex litigation topics. Clients, colleagues and friends may receive The Fitch Briefs by signing up here.