Franklin Office Park Realty Corp. v. Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-172-13)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC‑11334 FRANKLIN OFFICE PARK REALTY CORP. vs. COMMISSIONER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. Worcester. May 9, 2013. ‑ September 16, 2013. Present: Ireland, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Gants, Duffly, & Lenk, JJ. Department of Environmental Protection. Administrative Law, Agency’s interpretation of statute, Regulations, Judicial review. Practice, Civil, Review of administrative action. Environment, Air pollution. Asbestos. Statute, Construction. Regulation. Words, “Wilful.” Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on March 22, 2011. The case was heard by John S. McCann, J., on a motion for judgment on the pleadings. The Supreme Judicial Court on its own initiative transferred the case from the Appeals Court. Louis M. Dundin, Assistant Attorney General, for the defendant. Paul E. White for the plaintiff. DUFFLY, J. The plaintiff, Franklin Office Park Realty Corp. (Franklin), challenges the assessment of a penalty in the amount of $ 18,225, imposed by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for improper handling and disposal of roof shingles that contained asbestos. Franklin argues that, pursuant to G. L. c. 21A, § 16 (administrative penalties act), it was entitled to a notice of noncompliance and the opportunity to cure any violations before a penalty was imposed. The commissioner of the DEP (commissioner) accepted the recommendation of a hearing officer that he affirm the penalty on the ground that Franklin’s failure to comply fell within one of six exceptions to the notice requirement because it was “willful and not the result of error” (wilfulness exception), see G. L. c. 21A, § 16, which he interpreted as requiring only a showing of “the intent to do an act that violates the law if done.” Franklin sought judicial review pursuant to G. L. c. 30A, § 14; a judge of the Superior Court determined some of the facts found by the hearing officer to be unsupported by substantial evidence, and that the DEP’s interpretation of G. L. c. 21A, § 16, was unreasonable and thus not entitled to deference. DEP appealed, and we transferred the case to this court on our own motion. We conclude that the language “willful and not the result of error” in G. L. c. 21A, § 16, when considered in the context of the statutory scheme and the Legislature’s intent, clearly requires a showing that the party who has not complied with the law knew or should […]
Categories: News Tags: 1017213, Commissioner, Corp., department, Environmental, Franklin, Lawyers, Office, Park, Protection, Realty, Weekly
Franklin Park, Children’s Museum, Arboretum Free on Friday
Find out what's worth knowing in the South End today, Friday, August 2, 2013. South End Patch News
Franklin and Blackstone Park Get Restored Fountains
Check out the restored fountains just installed in both Franklin and Blackstone Park Monday, July 29. South End Patch News
Commonwealth v. Franklin (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-135-13)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC‑10887 COMMONWEALTH vs. LEWIS FRANKLIN. Plymouth. March 8, 2013. ‑ July 16, 2013. Present: Ireland, C.J., Cordy, Gants, Duffly, & Lenk, JJ. Homicide. Evidence, Hearsay, State of mind, Threat, Identification. Threatening. Identification. Practice, Criminal, Capital case, Assistance of counsel, Request for jury instructions, Argument by prosecutor, New trial. Indictments found and returned in the Superior Court Department on December 7, 2007. The cases were tried before Paul E. Troy, J. Robert F. Shaw, Jr., for the defendant. Robert C. Thompson, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth. GANTS, J. A Superior Court jury convicted the defendant of murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation, in violation of G. L. c. 265, § 1, for the killing of John Falcone.[1] The defendant raises four issues on appeal. First, he argues that the judge erred in permitting statements of the victim to be introduced in evidence for the purpose of establishing the defendant’s motive to kill where the evidence failed to show that the defendant knew of these statements. Second, he contends that his attorney’s failure to request that the jury be specifically instructed on issues relating to eyewitness identification constituted ineffective assistance of counsel. Third, the defendant claims that the prosecutor made various improper and prejudicial statements in his closing argument. Fourth, he argues that this court should exercise its authority under G. L. c. 278, § 33E, and order a new trial because the weight of the evidence does not support the verdict, or else reduce his conviction to either murder in the second degree or manslaughter. For the reasons detailed below, we affirm the convictions and, after a complete review of the record, decline to exercise our authority under G. L. c. 278, § 33E, to order a new trial or to reduce the murder conviction to a lesser degree of guilt. Background. The defendant does not challenge the legal sufficiency of the evidence at trial, but he does contend that the “verdict was against . . . the weight of the evidence,” G. L. c. 278, § 33E, so we summarize the relevant evidence rather than present the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution. 1. Before the shooting. In the early morning of August 23, 2004, the victim, a thirty year old white male, along with Anthony Robinson and Mary […]
Renovations Continue at Blackstone and Franklin Square Parks
If you’ve walked by either Blackstone or Franklin Parks on Washington Street lately, you’ll notice the large fountains are gone, and in their place is a chain link fence and a backhoe. Fear not – the “please excuse our appearance” look in both parks will be gone by late spring, according to newly elected Friends of the Blackstone Square Parks president Courtney Troutman. The $ 600K fountain restoration project is slated to be done by mid-May, said Troutman. “With the recent snowstorms, they’ve been delayed in starting the excavation, but soon they will start soon, and that’s the big part of the project,” he said. The new pumping stations will be built underneath the new Blackstone and Franklin Squares restored fountains, and will serve to recycle water used within the fountain as opposed to running a city water line to it and sending water down the drain. “Before it was just a little dribble and I think the whole basin will be filled with water so it should be really beautiful,” Troutman said. But the fountain project isn’t the only change coming to the park. Over the winter, the Friends group had all the trees in the two parks pruned and four more are slated for removal. “If you go into the parks you can see how much has been taking down and how much more light will come into the parks,” Troutman said. “The trees will definitely be healthier, and people always said Franklin Square seemed dark because it had such a thick canopy, and opening that up helps the grass grow.” In terms of upcoming projects still on the docket, Troutman said the Friends group is looking into new trash cans, and they are in the “early stages” of looking to replace the park’s benches. “These things always take longer than one expects, but in the last two years, the fountains have been taken care of, and the trees are pruned, and we’ve made really terrific progress,” Troutman said. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Categories: Arrests Tags: Blackstone, Continue, Franklin, Parks, Renovations, Square