When a borrower defaults on the terms of the mortgage, the loan is accelerated, thereby allowing the bank to conduct a foreclosure sale. Because Massachusetts is a non-judicial foreclosure state, a bank does not need to obtain a judgment to foreclose (provided the...
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has held that, where a foreclosing mortgagee is required by HUD regulations incorporated into the mortgage, to make reasonable efforts to hold a face-to-face meeting with a borrower before foreclosure, there is...
In July 2020, the European Court of Justice invalidated the use of the Privacy Shield framework, which thousands of companies had been using to transfer data between the European Union (EU) and the United States. The Court reasoned that the Privacy Shield did not...
A magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently held the peer review privilege did not apply in a case alleging health care billing fraud. In Wollman v. Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Lisa Wollman, a former...
On December 7, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear oral argument in a case of particular relevance to employers who use arbitration to resolve disputes with employees. The case, Chamber of Commerce of the U.S. v. Becerra, considers whether states...
People often think about the number zero as only nothing, when in fact, the invention of the humble zero constantly forces us to realize that the absence of something is a thing in and of itself. In a recent decision, the Massachusetts Appeals Court changed the...
The Massachusetts Appeals Court ("Appeals Court"), in an unpublished opinion, has held that where an alleged mortgagor has successfully argued that she is not party to a mortgage, she cannot later challenge a foreclosure of that mortgage on the grounds that the...
While federal law permits national banks to transfer loans and assign mortgage loan contracts to third-party lenders, courts across the country have sometimes struggled, when loans are challenged in litigation, to determine which entity legally made the loan. This...
On April 20, 2020, Massachusetts Governor Baker signed into law An Act Providing for a Moratorium on Evictions and Foreclosures During the COVID-19 Emergency. The moratorium was originally set to expire on August 18, 2020, but Governor Baker had previously extended...
In a recent decision by the Appeals Court of Massachusetts - albeit under Rule 23, so it is not considered binding precedent though it can be cited for persuasive purposes - the Court overturned a portion of a divorce judgment that required the Wife, who would be...
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