For a viable negligence claim against a construction project management firm, the plaintiff has the burden of showing that the defendant exercised "managerial control" over the manner in which the work was performed when the plaintiff was injured. A recent Suffolk...
The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) was enacted by Congress in 1974 in order to promote "more effective advance disclosure to home buyers and sellers of settlement costs." 12 U.S.C. § 2601(b)(1). In particular, RESPA requires the issuance of forms to the...
The obligation of a tenant to remove fixtures and the right of the landlord to recover the cost of removal of fixtures and attendant repairs to the property were the subject of a recent decision by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Robert Gordon in The Wilder Companies,...
In negotiating parenting plans for nearly 20 years, I have gradually eliminated a few different words from my vocabulary. For example, it's been a long time since I've used the words "visit" or "visitation" to describe what a non-custodial parent does when he or she...
The United States Courts of Appeals for the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits have added to the significant body of law limiting a bank's duty to non-customers harmed or defrauded by one of the bank's actual customers. The Sixth Circuit reaffirmed that, under Michigan law,...
An inherent challenge of cross-national business endeavors is that, once a deal or business relationship is in place, the actual terms of the contract will be carried out in different countries. Despite the fact that the trans-national agreement or contract was...
I recently returned from the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Arbitration Training Institute as a Certified Family Law Arbitrator. A few words about family law arbitration: Arbitration falls within the category of alternative dispute resolution ("ADR"). It can...
Abraham Lincoln has famously stated that "a house divided against itself cannot stand"; and the disposition of the marital home is often one of the most contentious issues in a divorce case. In many cases, the marital home represents the couple's most significant...
Since the enactment of the Alimony Reform Act of 2011 (the "Act"), alimony awards once considered ambiguous or lifetime entitlements are now subject to specific, durational time limits based upon the length of the parties' marriage. But, under what circumstances might...
Local zoning decisions can radically change the landscape of neighborhoods, and challenging a local zoning board's decision in the Commonwealth's courts poses several procedural traps for the unwary. This is particularly true for challenging zoning decisions issued by...
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