Free Newsletter
Criminal – Firearm – Licensing database search
Where a trial by jury culminated in a conviction of unlicensed possession of a firearm, there was insufficient evidence to sustain the defendant's conviction in light of Commonwealth v. Smith, 496 Mass. 304 (2025).
Prisons – APA – Ripeness
Where a plaintiff challenged several aspects of the grievance procedures described in 103 Code Mass. Regs. §491 (2017) and the Department of Correction Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Informal Complaint Resolution, the dismissal of the plaintiff’s claim for failure to comply with the Administrative Procedures Act must be reversed because it is not ripe for adjudication by way of a moti[...]
Criminal – Duplicative convictions
Where a defendant was convicted of two counts of mayhem and two counts of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury (ABDW-SBI), the convictions are duplicative, so the appropriate remedy is to vacate the convictions of ABDW-SBI.
Civil practice – Contempt
Where a Probate & Family Court judge denied a mother’s motion for leave to file a complaint for contempt, a remand is necessary because it is unclear from the record if the mother attempted to file a contempt complaint prior to the dismissal of the cases on Jan. 9, 2023.
Landlord and tenant – Claim preclusion – MCAD dismissal
Where a Housing Court judge dismissed a tenant’s complaint on the basis of claim preclusion, that was error, as the tenant’s action is not precluded merely because the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination previously dismissed her complaint alleging the same underlying facts.
Damages – Unjust enrichment
Where a judge dismissed an unjust enrichment claim, that judgment must be vacated because it is unclear whether it amounted to an improper reconsideration of a prior Appeals Court panel decision.
Contract – Brokerage agreement
Where a plaintiff filed a complaint alleging that the defendants failed to pay him a brokerage fee to which he was entitled after he procured a buyer for the defendants' property, the plaintiff is entitled to a judgment in his favor because the brokerage agreement was a bilateral contract for which the plaintiff provided valid consideration and performed sufficiently.
Criminal – Plea – Withdrawal
Where a defendant’s motion to withdraw his plea was allowed by a Superior Court judge who relied on the presence of special circumstances in concluding that the defendant was prejudiced by his plea counsel's ineffective assistance, that decision should be affirmed despite the commonwealth’s argument that the judge abused his discretion in concluding that a reasonable person in the defendant’[...]
Domestic relations – Divorce
Where a divorce judgment has been challenged on appeal, the judgment must be vacated to the extent that it conflicts with the terms of a “partial divorce agreement,” assigns all transportation responsibilities to the mother, and prohibits her from seeking modification absent a guardian ad litem’s certification.
Domestic relations – Divorce – Marital home
Where a judgment of divorce nisi has been challenged on appeal, so much of the judgment as relates to child support, the marital home, and alimony must be vacated because (1) the judge's findings of fact and rationale are insufficient to support the judgment and (2) the judge failed to follow the three-step framework set forth in Cavanagh v. Cavanagh, 490 Mass. 398, 410-11 (2022).
Attorneys – Lien – Divorce
Where a Probate & Family Court judge allowed a motion to enforce an attorney's lien, the attorney was required to seek enforcement of the lien in the Superior Court, as the divorce proceeding was no longer “pending” after the divorce judgment entered.
Criminal – Duplicative convictions
Where a jury found a defendant guilty of involuntary manslaughter and motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation, the convictions are duplicative, so the conviction of motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation should be reversed.
Verdicts & Settlements
- Injury during baby’s adenoidectomy leads to stroke
- Construction worker’s hand caught in cement mixer
- Worker trapped in freezer, dies during steam cleaning
- Pedestrian, 69, hit by motor vehicle while in crosswalk
- Four-vehicle pileup leaves driver with spinal cord injury
- Nursing home staff blamed for kidney-failure death
- Pharmacy’s late delivery blamed for patient’s death
- Man, 25, drowns after swimming lesson at fitness club
Opinion Digests
- Jurisdiction – Forum selection clause – Non-signatory
- Criminal – Responsibility
- Attorneys – Lien
- Landlord and tenant – Default judgment
- Zoning – Constructive grant – Comprehensive permit
- Fraud – False Claims Act – Settlement share
- Civil practice – Discovery – Cybersecurity
