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Corporate – Business judgment rule – Delaware law
Where a plaintiff corporation has alleged that a defendant breached his fiduciary duty of loyalty, the defendant’s conduct is protected under Delaware law by the business judgment rule.
Constitutional – Large-capacity feeding device – License
Where a defendant from New Hampshire has been indicted for possessing a large-capacity feeding device without a license, his motion to dismiss that charge should be denied because (1) the defendant has not shown that the plain text of the Second Amendment covers possessing a large-capacity magazine and (2) requiring non-residents to seek and obtain a firearm license before they may lawfully posses[...]
Insurance – Reinsurance certificates – Chapter 93A
Where an insurance company has moved to dismiss a G.L.c. 93A counterclaim, the motion should be denied despite the fact that two reinsurance certificates at issue are governed by New York law.
Mortgages – Default – Corporate veil
Where two defendant entities were defaulted for repeated discovery violations, the commonwealth should not be awarded summary judgment against other non-defaulted business entities, as the commonwealth cites no evidence that would support holding them liable for wrongdoing by the defaulted parties or suggesting that any of them participated in making deceptive representations to or consummating ch[...]
Civil practice – Contempt – Interest
Where plaintiffs have requested a final judgment memorializing the compensatory fines that were assessed during a contempt hearing, that request should be granted but with no additional prejudgment interest.
Contract – Invoices
Where a defendant terminated its contractual relationship with the plaintiffs, the defendant is entitled to summary judgment in its favor on its counterclaim for breach of contract against a plaintiff that failed to pay 23 outstanding invoices.
Tort – Abuse of process – SLAPP
Where two defendants have asserted counterclaims for abuse of process, the counterclaims should be dismissed under the anti-SLAPP statute, as the defendants have failed to show that the plaintiff’s exercise of her right to petition by bringing suit lacks any reasonable factual support or any arguable basis in law and caused them to suffer actual injury.
Corporate – Stock redemption – Appraisal
Where three plaintiffs who entered into stock redemption agreements have filed a complaint over the purchase price of their shares, the defendants should be awarded summary judgment because (1) the parties agreed that an independent appraisal of value would be final, (2) the plaintiffs have not mustered any evidence that one of the defendants breached its contractual obligations under the agreemen[...]
Attorneys – Duty to disclose – Rule 1.13(b)
Where a plaintiff limited liability company has alleged that a defendant attorney was negligent in not disclosing to the plaintiff’s board of directors certain information that the company’s chief executive officer shared with the attorney regarding a federal investigation, the attorney is entitled to summary judgment because he did not have and did not breach any duty to disclose directly to [...]
Insurance – SEC investigation – Fees
Where a plaintiff that was investigated by the Securities & Exchange Commission has brought suit against a defendant insurance agency for failing to obtain coverage, the defendant is entitled to summary judgment because the plaintiff cannot prove that it suffered compensable injury without admissible expert testimony that the counsel fees it incurred during the SEC investigation were reasonable.
Criminal – Competence
Where a defendant has been found not competent to stand trial because he suffers from severe and permanent mental impairments, the criminal charges against him should be dismissed without prejudice because there is essentially no chance that he could become competent in the foreseeable future or at any time before the charges would have to be dismissed by law.
Employment – Public policy – Constructive discharge
Where a defendant who previously worked for the plaintiff has moved for leave to assert a wrongful discharge counterclaim, the motion should be denied because the factual allegations do not plausibly suggest that the defendant was constructively discharged, nor do they plausibly suggest that he was forced out in violation of public policy.
