Free Newsletter
Criminal – Firearm – Licensure
Where a jury found a defendant guilty of possession of a firearm without a firearms identification (FID) card and possession of ammunition without an FID card, there was insufficient evidence to sustain the defendant's convictions, so they must be reversed.
Real property – Inconsistent jury findings
Where a trial judge, having sua sponte determined that a jury’s answers to special questions were inconsistent, dismissed the plaintiff's claims and the defendants' counterclaims, the trial judge abused his discretion in failing to make a reasonable effort to harmonize the jury's verdict.
Civil practice – Contempt – Punitive damages
Where two defendants found guilty of contempt were ordered to pay $25,000 in counsel fees and additionally were required to pay to the plaintiff $200,000, the order to pay the plaintiff $200,000 does not reflect the plaintiff's actual loss, so it cannot stand.
Prisons – Retaliation – First Amendment
Where defendant prison officials were awarded judgment on the pleadings, that judgment must be vacated in part, as the complaint's allegations that the defendant classification manager overrode two classification recommendations that the plaintiff be placed in minimum security after being sued by the plaintiff provided a plausible claim of First Amendment retaliation.
Mortgages – Claim preclusion
Where a Housing Court judge concluded that claim preclusion applied and ruled in favor of a plaintiff bank on the issue of ownership of real property, that was error because there was no final judgment on the merits in a prior Superior Court case between the defendant and the bank’s predecessor in interest.
Search and seizure – Traffic stop
Where a defendant moved to suppress evidence obtained during a search of his vehicle, the stop of that vehicle by a state trooper was unreasonably prolonged, so the motion should have been allowed.
Criminal – Firearm – License
Where a jury found a defendant guilty of carrying a firearm without a license, the verdict must be set aside because the trial judge did not instruct the jury that the commonwealth must prove that the defendant did not have a license to carry a firearm.
Criminal – Restitution – Probation
Where a Superior Court judge terminated a defendant's probation and dismissed all the remaining owed restitution, that decision must be reversed because of a lack of reasons justifying the termination of the defendant's probation and restitution.
Criminal – Hearsay – Jury selection
Where a jury found a defendant guilty of three counts of firearm charges and two counts of assault and battery on a police officer, the verdicts must be set aside because the trial judge erred in (1) allowing the commonwealth to introduce documents under the business records exception to the hearsay rule without a live witness and (2) in refusing to dismiss a juror for cause.
Criminal – Abuse prevention order
Where a defendant was convicted of violating an abuse prevention order under G.L.c. 209A, §7, his motion for a required finding of not guilty should have been allowed because a “stay away” order did not prohibit him from being within five feet of the complainant's residence.
Criminal – In camera review – Appellate record
Where a defendant convicted of two counts of receipt of stolen property over $250 filed a timely appeal and then moved for the release of all documents reviewed in camera by Superior Court judges prior to her trial, an order denying the motion should be vacated because the defendant was entitled to include all of the records, in unredacted form, in the appellate record.
Evidence – Expert – ‘Sexual deviance’
Where the Sex Offender Registry Board’s classification of a plaintiff as a Level 2 offender was vacated in Superior Court, the hearing examiner did not assume the role of an expert when she wrote that the “facts and factors described … suggest a significant interest and drive to sexually touch children, a sexual deviance,” so the Superior Court judgment must 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
