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Domestic relations – Contempt – Fees
Where a divorced defendant was held in contempt and ordered to pay costs and fees to her former husband, the finding of contempt must be reversed, but it was not an abuse of discretion to award fees and costs.
Domestic relations – Harassment prevention order – Instagram
Where a harassment prevention order under G.L.c. 258E has been challenged on appeal, the order must be vacated because the plaintiff did not prove three qualifying acts of harassment.
Domestic relations – Chapter 209A – Extension
Where a Probate & Family Court judge extended a G.L.c. 209A abuse prevention order, the extension of the 209A order for a duration of two years went beyond what was permitted by the statute, so a remand must be ordered.
Domestic relations – Chapter 209A
Where an ex parte G.L.c. 209A order was continued for one year, the judge erred by continuing the ex parte order without taking testimony from the plaintiff or allowing the defendant to cross-examine her and instead relying solely on evidence presented in conjunction with a criminal matter pending against the defendant.
Domestic relations – Abuse prevention order – Continuance
Where a defendant has challenged an abuse prevention order, the defendant's request for a continuance should have been allowed, so the order must be vacated.
Domestic relations – Child custody – Domestic violence
Where a divorce judgment has been challenged on appeal, so much of the judgment as pertains to child custody must be vacated because the lower court failed to make detailed and comprehensive findings of fact on the issues of domestic violence and its effect upon the child as well as upon the father’s parenting ability.
Domestic relations – Chapter 209A order – Abuse
Where a defendant has filed an appeal challenging a G.L.c. 209A abuse prevention order, a remand is necessary because of an inability to determine whether the District Court judge applied the correct standard when she issued the order.
Seasoned family law attorneys’ prospective retrospectives
Seasoned family law practitioners offer advice they would now give a divorcing client that they likely would not have offered when they started practicing.
Former wife lacked standing to contest foreclosure notice
Appeals Court ruled a divorced homeowner lacked standing to challenge a foreclosure notice issued on a mortgage signed solely by her ex-husband.
Conviction reversed in Chapter 209 ‘stay-away’ appeal
A defendant’s conviction of violating an abuse prevention order has been reversed by the Supreme Judicial Court because the evidence was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that, at the time he was arrested on the opposite side of the block from the victim's residence, the defendant had violated the stay-away provision of the order.
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).
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
