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Negligence – Medical malpractice – Discovery rule
Where a medical malpractice complaint against the United States was found to be untimely under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the lower court correctly determined that the plaintiff’s claims accrued in 1995 when he underwent surgery at a VA hospital.
Attorneys – ‘At issue’ waiver of privilege
Where (1) plaintiffs filed a complaint alleging that they reasonably relied on negligent tax consulting services by the defendant and as a result they incurred damages of almost $5 million, (2) the defendant has asserted that the plaintiffs filed the case outside the statute of limitations, (3) in response, the plaintiffs have invoked the discovery rule, and (4) the defendant now moves to compel p[...]
Tort – Discovery rule – Statute of limitations
Where a plaintiff alleged that the defendant raped her in 2015, later causing her to suffer gastrointestinal dysfunction, a judge’s decision to dismiss the complaint as untimely must be reversed under the discovery rule.
Civil practice – Discovery rule – Limitations
Where a defendant auto manufacturer has moved for summary judgment in a suit brought by a plaintiff dealership, that motion should be denied as to Count II because a dispute exists regarding whether that claim is time-barred under Chapter 93B’s four-year statute of limitations.
Civil practice – Discovery rule – Social media
Where a U.S. District Court judge has certified a question asking whether material publicly posted to social media platforms is “inherently unknowable” for purposes of applying the discovery rule in the context of defamation, right of publicity, right to privacy, and related tort claims, that determination requires consideration of the totality of the circumstances regarding the social media p[...]
Civil practice – Discovery rule – Social media
Where plaintiffs have moved for reconsideration of a ruling regarding the applicability of the discovery rule to Facebook posts, that motion should be allowed and a question certified to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court as to the application of the discovery rule to information posted on public social media pages.
Discovery rule inapplicable to Facebook posts
A U.S. District Court judge has decided that the discovery rule did not toll the statute of limitations applicable to state-law claims asserted by models claiming that their images were posted to a nightclub’s Facebook page without their consent.
Civil practice – Discovery rule – Social media posts
Where plaintiffs alleging that the defendants improperly used images of them to promote their nightclub, the three-year statute of limitations applicable to the plaintiffs’ state-law claims should not be tolled under the discovery rule, as the plaintiffs have not satisfied their burden of proving their lack of knowledge of the Facebook posts at issue was objectively reasonable.
Negligence – FTCA – Limitations – Discovery rule
Where a medical malpractice complaint was filed against a federally supported entity, an award of summary judgment for the government must be affirmed because the complaint was time-barred under the […]
Insurance – Limitations – Discovery rule
Where a Superior Court judge awarded summary judgment to a defendant insurance company that denied coverage for water damage caused by a burst pipe, the judgment must be affirmed because […]
Real property – Limitations – Discovery rule
Where summary judgment was awarded in favor of the defendant home sellers and codefendant architect, reversal is not warranted, as (1) the claims against the sellers were time-barred and (2) […]
Landlord and tenant – Mold – Statute of limitations
Where a plaintiff has brought suit alleging that he was sickened by exposure to toxic mold while working in office space leased from the defendant town of Framingham, the complaint […]
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
