Your U.S. company and a commercial partner from a foreign nation had the foresight to designate international arbitration as the dispute resolution mechanism in your joint venture agreement. A dispute arose and you both diligently presented your claims to the arbitral...
Blog
Lost opportunity for considering alimony after child support is established: Appeals Court decision leaves us in the dark
In Casey v. Sweeney, a recent decision of the Appeals Court of Massachusetts, the court declined to provide clarification on the meaning of a statutory provision that has puzzled commentators and practitioners since it came into effect on March 1st 2012. The provision...
Massachusetts Superior Court Concludes Lender Properly Foreclosed and Seized Borrower’s Personal Property Following Loan Default
A recent Massachusetts Superior Court case, Germinara v. Bakis, et al. (decided May 13, 2019), involved a plaintiff borrower who obtained a commercial loan in order to fund the purchase and operation of a gas station/convenience store, which was owned by an LLC formed...
Banking and Finance Use of International Arbitration Continues to Grow
International arbitration has many benefits for banking and finance disputes, and parties to those disputes are increasingly recognizing those advantages. While banks and financial institutions have traditionally used courts and other judicial forums to resolve...
A Disloyal Corporate Officer, Ordered to Forfeit His Compensation To His Employer, Fails in His Attempt to Reduce The Amount of Restitution Under the Joint Tortfeasors Act
In a case of first impression, the Business Litigation Session (Davis, J.) recently declined to reduce the amount of restitution a disloyal corporate officer had been ordered to pay to his employer in connection with a judgment against the corporate officer. In so...
Can Student Loan Debt be Categorized as a Marital Debt?
In Massachusetts, a judge has broad discretion with respect to the equitable division of the marital estate and may consider both economic and noneconomic contributions to the marital estate. A prenuptial agreement can clarify the responsibility for debts incurred...
When Income Attribution is Appropriate
In a recent case, Macri v. Macri, the Massachusetts Appeals Court recently cemented a trial court decision to, among other things, attribute income to Husband, who was unemployed at the time of trial. Attribution of income is often a contested topic in the Probate and...
Is the Non-Compete Clause in My Employment Contract Enforceable?
Perhaps you are considering finding employment at a new company or already have a new job offer and remember that the employment agreement you have with your current or recent employer includes a non-compete clause. What is a non-compete agreement? Does this mean you...
Alimony modification requires a showing of a material change in circumstances
In a recent summary decision, Casey v. Sweeney, a panel of the Massachusetts Appeals Court reaffirmed that a payor's alimony obligation determined prior to the enactment of the Alimony Reform Act in March 2012 cannot be modified without a showing of a material change...
The Singapore Mediation Convention & Its Impact on Enforcement of International Mediation Agreements
The New York Convention has made it much easier for parties in international arbitration to seek enforcement of arbitral awards. The United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, also known as the Singapore Mediation...
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