The answer is: it depends. The statute governing partition actions, M.G.L. c. 241, authorizes the holder of a life estate to file a petition for partition. For example, when two siblings hold concurrent life estates, their interest can be partitioned from each other....
In a recent decision, affirming the Superior Court, the Supreme Judicial Court concluded that civil enforcement actions filed by the Attorney General are not subject to the constraints of G. L. c. 213, § 59H, also known as the anti-SLAPP statute. In Commonwealth v....
Boston is known as the “Hub” for a reason and, in recent years, Boston has become the world’s top biotech hub, with over 1,000 biotech companies calling the Greater Boston area home. Boston also is a world-renowned educational hub, with over one hundred colleges and...
The United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit has held, in a case of first impression, Walker v. BOKF NA., that extended overdraft fees that accrue each business day are “non-interest charges” and, therefore, do not violate state limits on interest rates for...
In November 2008, the owners of condominium units at Grand Manor and the Grand Manor Condominium Association (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) discovered hazardous material in the land beneath the condominiums, which had been used as a landfill operated by the City of...
In a recent decision awarding attorneys’ fees, a U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania explicitly considered the historic attorney gender pay gap. In that case – Ray v. AT&T Mobility Services, LLC – the plaintiff, Alison Ray, sought a total of $847,945 in attorneys’...
In a recent Rule 23 decision, a panel of the Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed the lower court’s modification judgment that extended husband’s alimony obligation to his former wife beyond the durational limits set forth in Massachusetts’ Alimony Reform Act (M.G. L....
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York has held that a loan servicer does not qualify as a debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C.A. §1692a (“FDCPA”), where the loans were not in default when the servicer...
Co-owners of real estate who no longer want to share title may file a petition for partition. If the property cannot be physically divided, the partition may be done in one of two ways: either one party buys out the interest of the other or the property is sold and...
As part of the recent explosion in cannabis facilities in Massachusetts, in around 2020 Nova Farms sought four special permits from the City of Attleboro. Two of the permits would have enabled Nova Farms to establish a cannabis retail business and a Medical Marijuana...
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