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Domestic relations – Failed engagement – Ring
Where a planned wedding was called off, the engagement ring must be returned to the plaintiff donor regardless of fault.
Criminal – Murder
Where a defendant was convicted of first-degree murder, it was not an abuse of discretion to admit into evidence recordings of rap music, composed by the defendant, that contained lyrics describing strangulation, murder and dismemberment, while the defendant was not prejudice by the prosecutor's erroneous remarks during closing argument.
SJC orders return of engagement ring regardless of fault
In the wake of a planned wedding that was called off, the engagement ring must be returned to the donor regardless of fault, the Supreme Judicial Court has ruled.
Wills and trusts – MPIA – Adjustment
Where the petitioner, one of the remainder beneficiaries of a trust, alleged improper distributions by the trustee, a Probate & Family Court judge's allowance of summary judgment in favor of the trustee should be affirmed because the trust instrument, a will, does not clearly evince the testator's intent to deny the trustee the power to adjust, so the Massachusetts Principal and Income Act (MPIA) [...]
Attorneys – Public reprimand
Where a single justice publicly reprimanded an attorney, that decision should be upheld based on evidence of the attorney’s demeaning and disrespectful conduct toward a probation officer in front of detainees at a courthouse.
Appeals – Certiorari
Where a single justice denied an emergency petition for relief in the nature of certiorari pursuant to G.L.c. 249, §4, the single justice’s decision should be upheld on mootness grounds and because the petitioner is unable to demonstrate that his claims are not otherwise reviewable on appeal.
Consumer protection – Website browsing activities – Wiretap
Where a plaintiff filed a complaint alleging that the defendant hospitals violated the Massachusetts wiretap statute (G.L.c. 272, §99) by collecting and transmitting her browsing activities on the hospitals' websites, the complaint should have been dismissed because nothing in the text of the statute makes unambiguously clear that the Legislature intended to reach so far as to criminalize the sec[...]
Appeals – G.L.c. 211, §3
Where a petitioner sought relief under G.L.c. 211, §3, a single justice’s decision to deny that motion should be affirmed because the petitioner has an adequate remedy in the ordinary appellate process.
Criminal – Murder
Where a defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm, the firearm conviction must be vacated because of a lack of evidence that the defendant lacked a firearms license, but he is not entitled to a new trial on the murder charge.
Criminal – Erroneous convictions – Misdemeanor charges
Where (1) the Appeals Court reversed a claimant’s convictions of two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child, (2) he commenced a civil action in Superior Court seeking compensation under G.L.c. 258D, and (3) the commonwealth moved for summary judgment, contending that the Appeals Court's reversal of the claimant's convictions did not tend to establish his innocence of simple assault an[...]
Criminal – Probation
Where a defendant’s probation was revoked, there was no error despite his contention that (1) there was insufficient evidence that he possessed cocaine with the intent to distribute and possessed a loaded firearm without a license and (2) his prior counsel was ineffective by failing to file a motion to suppress on equal protection grounds.
Criminal – Aggravated kidnapping – Dangerous weapon
Where a defendant was convicted of aggravated kidnapping, the conviction must be vacated because the trial judge did not instruct the jury that the commonwealth was required to prove that the dangerous weapon with which the defendant was armed was used to inflict serious bodily injury.
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
