It is not uncommon for parties to a contract to decide which law will govern their contractual relationship, by including a choice of law provision in the contract. There are some significant differences between state laws: for example, the statute of limitations for...
The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 – both of which prohibit sex-based discrimination – are separate enforcement mechanisms an...
In two recent cases, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has rejected attempts to throw out consumer protection lawsuits for failure to follow the strict mandates of the Chapter 93A demand letter requirement. Massachusetts’ Consumer Protection...
The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently dismissed claims against two foreign corporations which owned and operated a ship which damaged a pier in Boston Harbor in 2017, in American Home Assurance Company v. M/V One Helsinki f/k/a...
Relying on the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina has found that Bank of America, N.A.’s system used to place alleged debt collection calls does not qualify as...
In U.S. v. Kuljko, the defendant, a “convicted fraudster who hornswoggled dozens of victims out of millions of dollars,” requested that the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacate the jury’s guilty verdict, in part due to the trial court’s failure to dismiss a...
Governor Baker recently signed legislation requiring employers to provide COVID-19 emergency paid sick leave to eligible employees who are unable to work for COVID-19-related reasons. Eligible employees will be entitled to up to 40 hours of paid leave, with a weekly...
In a recent Memorandum and Order issued by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the Court ruled on a summary judgment claim brought by the defendant in the case of Gunter v. Shapley & Stern, Inc. The defendant, a furniture and carpet...
The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently held that a promissory estoppel claim for assignment of a contract was not barred by the Statute of Frauds. The Court held that, where the complaint did not allege that the parties had any...
In a fascinating decision, the Business Litigation Section of the Superior Court of Massachusetts recently held that a terminated doctor/shareholder could bring a breach of fiduciary duty action against the controlling director. The default rule in Massachusetts is...
