Pare v. Harmony House, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-066-17)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.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-12169 WARREN L. PARE vs. HARMONY HOUSE, INC. Supreme Judicial Court, Superintendence of inferior courts. May 3, 2017. The petitioner, Warren L. Pare, appeals from a judgment of a single justice of this court denying his petition pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 3. We affirm. The record before us is scant, but, as best we can tell, the respondent, Harmony House, Inc., purchased Pare’s former home at auction and then commenced a summary process action in the Housing Court to secure possession of the home. After a judgment in Harmony House’s favor, Pare filed a motion to waive the appeal bond, pursuant to G. L. c. 239, § 5, which was allowed. Harmony House appealed from that decision to a single justice of the Appeals Court. After a hearing, the Appeals Court single justice remanded the matter to the Housing Court for a determination of the amount of use and occupancy instalment payments that Pare should make to Harmony House while his appeal from the summary process judgment was pending. When Pare subsequently sought to appeal from the single justice’s decision to a panel of the Appeals Court, a different single justice struck the notice on the basis that there is no right of appeal to a panel in the circumstances here presented.[1] Pare then filed, in the county court, a document entitled “Application for Direct Appellate Review,” which the single justice treated as a G. L. c. 211, § 3, petition, and denied. In his appeal to this court, Pare argues that Harmony House, Inc., had no right to appeal from the waiver of the appeal bond and that the Appeals Court single justice therefore had no jurisdiction to hold a hearing on the matter or to issue any kind of order to the lower court. The record that Pare has supplied to us is, as we have said, scant, and the record before the single justice was even more so. It was Pare’s burden, as the petitioner, “to create a record — not merely to allege but to demonstrate, i.e., to provide copies of the lower court docket entries and any relevant pleadings, motions, orders, recordings, transcripts, or other parts of the lower court record necessary to substantiate [his] allegations — showing both a substantial claim of violation of a substantive right and that the violation could […]
Opinion of the Justices to the House of Representatives (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-097-15)
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-11883 OPINION OF THE JUSTICES TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. General Court. Constitutional Law, General Court, Appropriation of money, Taxation. Statute, Appropriation of money, Amendment. Taxation. On June 15, 2015, the Justices submitted the following response to questions propounded to them by the House of Representatives. To the Honorable the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: The undersigned Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court respectfully submit this response to the questions set forth in an order adopted by the House of Representatives on May 22, 2015, and transmitted to us on that date. The order poses five questions concerning the State budget legislation for fiscal year 2016. All of the questions involve Part II, c. 1, § 3, art. 7, of the Massachusetts Constitution, which we will refer to as the origination article.[1] They ask, among other things, whether certain provisions in the House budget bill rendered it a “money bill” within the meaning of the origination article, and whether the Senate improperly “originated” a money bill in violation of this article. As explained below, we are of the view that the House bill was a money bill, and that the Senate did not improperly originate a money bill.[2] Bills and amendments at issue. We begin by summarizing the history of the various bills and amendments that give rise to the questions, and by describing generally the provisions that are at issue, reserving for later a more detailed analysis of the legal effect of those provisions. On March 4, 2015, acting pursuant to art. 63, § 2, of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, as amended by art. 107 of the Amendments, and pursuant to G. L. c. 29, § 7H, the Governor filed with the House his recommended budget for fiscal year 2016, which, as is customary, was designated House No. 1. Among its many provisions was section 27, entitled “Delay FAS 109 Deduction,”[3] which provided: “Subsection (2) of section 95 of chapter 173 of the acts of 2008 is hereby amended by striking out the figure ’2016′, inserted by section 189 of chapter 165 of the acts of 2014, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2017.” The Governor’s submission described section 27 as follows: “This section delays until tax year 2017 the start of the deduction allowed to certain publicly-traded companies to offset increases in their net deferred tax […]
There’s a Joke in Here Somewhere: State House Gets First Lightning Rod
The cupola's pine cone will receive a new metal cap that will act as a lightning rod. South End Patch News
What’s the Going Rate For House Painting?
How much does it cost to paint your house? Patch wants to uncover the true going rate for goods and services in town, so you'll know how much to pay for what you need. Help us out by replying in the comments. Part of our Smart Spending series. South End Patch News
State House News Service Weekly Roundup: Log Flotilla
Every candidate needs a closing sales pitch, and Gabriel Gomez came up with one that sounds a bit like the fine print on the bottom of a Macy’s receipt: Take me home, try me on, return me in 17 months if you’d like a different color. The Republican businessman from Cohasset, who incidentally doesn’t much like talking about his business, tried out the pitch in his final debate earlier this week against Congressman Edward Markey. “You’ve had 37 years in D.C. to get these important things done,” Gomez said. “Give me 17 months, and I will keep my word, and I will do what I say.” Voters on Tuesday will decide whether to take him up on that offer, but late polling showed Markey extending his lead over Gomez among likely voters, with one poll from UMass Lowell declaring the Malden Democrat ahead by as many 20 points. Few believe the margin will be that large, and it’s still unclear whether the probationary term would count against Gomez’s self-imposed term limit pledge should he manage to derail Markey. Click here to subscribe to MASSterlist, a free morning newsletter by State House News Service that highlights political news from a wide array of newspapers and journals in Massachusetts and New England. While the U.S. Senate race entered its final stages, the somewhat dormant Legislature sprang to life this week, advancing bills to keep government running while budget negotiations continue, to align the state’s health care system with the Affordable Care Act and to keep ongoing IT and capital maintenance projects funded and on track. Still on hold, however, are the annual state budget and an accompanying tax bill intended to finance transportation that will go to the wire with just nine days left in the fiscal year. Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Stephen Brewer compared the build-up of major tax and spending bills to a “log flotilla,” noting everything can flow when one log is pulled out, but he gave little clue as to when and who would do the pulling, nor a description of the troublesome log. Addressing Sen. Bruce Tarr’s question on the status of negotiations, Brewer said, “I would like to tell the minority leader a lot, but it is in conference, so I really can’t tell him a lot of the machinations.” The machinery – a little rusty, but starting to warm up – had no problem spitting out a $ 4 billion interim spending measure filed this week by Gov. Deval Patrick and whisked through the Legislature in one day that will keep the money flowing after July 1, assuming no budget will in place for the start of the fiscal year. This […]
State House News Service Weekly Roundup: Olde Home Days
His was not the story of Deval Patrick, or Mitt Romney or Bill Weld. Argeo Paul Cellucci started local on the Board of Selectmen in his beloved town of Hudson and worked his way up: state representative, state senator, lieutenant governor, governor, ambassador. He was the Calvin Coolidge of his time, according to former Minority Leader Richard Tisei, and Democrats, Republicans and Canadians, alike, loved and respected him for it. Cellucci passed away last weekend after a battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease at the age of 65, and on Thursday he became the 13th public figure to lie in state under the State House rotunda. The memorial service and public viewing for the former governor drew a who’s-who to Beacon Hill, including Romney, Michael Dukakis, Jane Swift, faces from the Weld and Cellucci administrations who haven’t seen the inside of the capitol since the late 1990s, and even William Bulger and his old Senate rival David Locke. Above all, Cellucci was remembered as a classy public servant, one who put people before party (as Gabriel Gomez is prone to say), worked across party lines, and helped define what it is to be a successful Massachusetts Republican. He never lost a political race, had a memorable affinity for movies and played a mean game of bocce, even if his talent for the game remained in question. Click here to subscribe to MASSterlist, a free morning newsletter by State House News Service that highlights political news from a wide array of newspapers and journals in Massachusetts and New England Among the faces in the faces in the crowd on Thursday was Bulger, the former Senate President. While jurors in the murder and racketeering trial of his brother Whitey Bulger heard about a gun cache the alleged mobster kept close to Billy Bulger’s South Boston home, the aging pol quietly took in the Cellucci ceremony before venturing back into the chamber he led for 18 years to watch as Linda Dorcena Forry was sworn into the Senate. A daughter of Haitian immigrants, Forry’s swearing in was routine, but symbolic of the changing face of Boston. She takes over as the representative of a Senate district that includes Mattapan, Dorchester and South Boston, the traditionally Irish stronghold from which Bulger drew his power for 26 years. Ironically, Forry began her political career 17 years ago as a State House aide to former Rep. Charlotte Golar Richie, who is trying to make her own history running to become the first minority, female mayor of Boston. Forry mentioned her early work for Golar Richie during remarks to the Senate after she was sworn in by Patrick. […]
State House News Service Weekly Roundup: When You’ve Had a Bad Day
It could have been a turning point in the race, the moment when the lights flicked on and the much-anticipated contest finally lived up to expectations for a U.S Senate race. Would Congressman Edward Markey would finally slam the door on Gabriel Gomez and dash the GOP’s dream of Scott Brown redux? Could Gomez shine, narrow the polls and entice national Republican donors to start paying attention? Instead, all anyone wanted to talk about Thursday morning was the thrilling Bruins double overtime victory in Game 3 of the NHL Eastern Conference finals. Tuukka Rask as a write-in? At long last, Markey and Gomez shared the same debate stage. In fact, they were so close to each other in the WBZ studios they practically shared a podium. It was all Markey could do not graze Gomez as he repeatedly threw his hands up in disbelief. “Look it,” he would say over and over, refuting one charge after another lobbed his way. Click here to subscribe to MASSterlist, a free morning newsletter by State House News Service that highlights political news from a wide array of newspapers and journals in Massachusetts and New England. Neither Gomez nor Markey came across as a particularly skilled debater, but Gomez came prepared to try to knock Markey off his game and get under the veteran Congressman’s skin. It didn’t really work. The two spent an hour trading familiar campaign barbs. Gomez highlighted Markey’s resume as someone who has served in a deeply unpopular Congress since the days of Gerald Ford, reprising one-liners when he called him a “poster boy” for term limits and debuting new themes when he accused Markey of “putting party and politics before the people.” For Markey, he wanted voters to come away thinking of the new-to-politics Republican as a cookie-cutter candidate with the same “stale” Republican ideas that Massachusetts voters have repeatedly rejected. Those positions included Gomez’s opposition to an assault weapons ban, support for cutting back on Social Security benefits and a willingness to support a Supreme Court justice who would overturn Roe v. Wade. The openings that Gomez did give Markey, the Malden Democrat largely let slide. Two new polls from New England College and UMass Amherst, both conducted before the debate, showed Markey leading Gomez comfortably by 12 and 11 points, respectively. In the plus column for Gomez, the Republican was leading Markey by 17 points among independent voters in the UMass Amherst survey. Voters, however, trusted Markey over Gomez 47-32 to handle the economy, and Gomez’s supposed strength on national security with his background as a Navy SEAL did not resonate. Voters gave the edge to Markey on national security 41-33. Next week’s visit by […]
State House News Service Weekly Roundup: Death With Benefits
The specter of deceased citizens collecting welfare benefits haunted the marbled halls of the State House this week as Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray tied up the loose ends dangling on his six-and-a-half years with the Patrick administration and Attorney General Martha Coakley sued the Obama administration for allegedly putting fishermen on death row. Other than that, the arrival of steamy days in Boston ushered in a post-Memorial Day and budget week lull at the State House with the governor out of town, politicos watching two special elections and committees plodding forward with bill hearings while lawmakers wait for word from on high about their next big votes. Congressman Ed Markey and Republican Gabriel Gomez also continued sniping from a distance in the lead-up to next week’s first debate, with First Lady Michelle Obama and song lady Carole King both in Massachusetts to campaign for Markey. Click here to subscribe to MASSterlist, a free morning newsletter by State House News Service that highlights political news from a wide array of newspapers and journals in Massachusetts and New England Auditor Suzanne Bump released a blockbuster audit of the Department of Transitional Assistance alleging $ 15 million in questionable spending on welfare benefits, including 1,164 cases totaling $ 2.4 million in benefits flowing to enrollees after they were reported deceased or to recipients using a dead person’s Social Security number. If Auditor Suzanne Bump was seeking to make a name for herself as a nonpartisan watchdog of the public purse, she hit the jackpot with this one. The report played perfectly into the hands of Republicans and conservative Democrats eager to jump on any morsel of evidence that welfare benefits are being abused. What Bump might not have been expecting, however, was the tone of the pushback from Gov. Deval Patrick and his administration who had little positive to say about his former labor secretary’s work. And it’s not the first time the accuracy of Bump’s auditing has been questioned. Patrick told the Herald he found it “infuriating” that Bump’s office had only released the details on 178 cases reviewed in the audit, of which his team found that only 17 were problematic. The spin required walking a fine line: Yes, one case of fraud is too many, but a 99.9 percent success rate ain’t bad either. Asked whether the Democrat was doing a good job in her role as auditor, Patrick said, “I think it’s too soon to say.” Bump has been auditor for two and a half years. Unlike other audits, this one isn’t likely to fade soon and will feed into the debate when Senate President Therese Murray files her comprehensive welfare […]
State House News Service Weekly Roundup: Exit 10A
The rush from Beacon Hill to the westbound turnpike this week had as much to do with two of Worcester’s political sons beating feet from the capitol as with the impending Memorial Day weekend. As Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray attempted as graceful an exit as possible from politics, fellow Worcester Democrat Rep. John Fresolo made his hasty escape under an ethics cloud feeling “marginalized” by his peers and pressured to resign, which he did. If not for those two storylines, the focus may have been on the Senate’s breakneck budget debate concluding Thursday night as senators wiped their hands clean of 725 amendments and passed a $ 34 billion fiscal 2014 budget without the need for Senate President Therese Murray to threaten a Friday or Saturday workday. But on this week in late May, Tim Murray one of his wishes, for better or worse, as the gaze of the Boston political media was affixed firmly for once on central Massachusetts. Click here to subscribe to MASSterlist, a free morning newsletter by State House News Service that highlights political news from a wide array of newspapers and journals in Massachusetts and New England Murray leaves the administration after next week to take over as president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, a job closer to home and his family that will pay at least $ 75,000 more than he was earning as a sidekick to Patrick. He’ll finish his service with one last sniff of power as acting governor when Patrick travels to Chicago on Friday to headline the Organizing for Action Illinois State Founders Summit. Murray said he was not actively looking to leave before his term expires. But his decision was not a total shocker since Murray already pulled the plug on his political career in January when he decided not to run for governor, the job many that he would pursue after running in lockstep with Patrick for so many years. For the most part, the arranged marriage between Murray and Gov. Deval Patrick turned out to be a happy and prosperous one. Since 2006, Murray has rarely, if ever, contradicted Patrick on policy or politics, and he was a foot soldier in the 2010 reelection campaign while maintaining good ties with municipal leaders who mostly like and trust the former mayor. However, the Worcester Democrat’s star started to dim in the winter of 2011 after a poorly explained pre-dawn car crash on a Sterling highway and subsequent questions about his ties to corrupt former Chelsea Housing Authority Director Michael McLaughlin. All Murray wanted to do on Wednesday was take a bow, talk about his work […]