Lind, et al. v. Domino’s Pizza LLC, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-080-15)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.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 14-P-928 Appeals Court MICHAEL A. LIND, coadministrator,[1] & another[2] vs. DOMINO’S PIZZA LLC & another.[3] No. 14-P-928. Hampden. March 12, 2015. – July 29, 2015. Present: Grainger, Meade, & Fecteau, JJ. Practice, Civil, Summary judgment, Change of ruling, Instructions to jury, New trial. Rules of the Superior Court. Negligence, Vicarious liability. Contract, Franchise agreement, Third party beneficiary. Negligence, Vicarious liability, Duty to prevent harm, Expert opinion. Evidence, Expert opinion. Witness, Expert. Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on June 16, 2009. A motion for summary judgment was heard by Constance M. Sweeney, J., and was reconsidered by Richard J. Carey, J.; the case was tried before him, the entry of separate and final judgment was directed by him, and a motion for a new trial was considered by him. John J. Egan for the plaintiffs. Paul G. Boylan (Kevin G. Kenneally & John F. Burke, Jr., with him) for the defendants. FECTEAU, J. Plaintiffs Michael Lind and Lisa Bishop, coadministrators of the estate of their son, Corey M. Lind (Corey), appeal from separate and final judgments entered in the Superior Court resolving all claims in favor of the defendants Domino’s Pizza LLC and Domino’s Pizza, Inc., in connection with the plaintiffs’ wrongful death action filed pursuant to G. L. c. 229, § 2.[4] The plaintiffs challenge as error the reconsideration and partial allowance by the judge, on the eve of trial, of the defendants’ motion for summary judgment.[5] The plaintiffs also challenge rulings made by the judge during trial excluding certain testimony and declining to give a particular jury instruction. Finally, the plaintiffs contend the judge erred in denying their motions for reconsideration and a new trial. We affirm. Background. The relevant facts are largely undisputed. In June, 2003, David Jenks, the president of Springfield Pie, Inc. (Springfield Pie), entered into a “Standard Franchise Agreement” (franchise agreement) with Domino’s Pizza LLC,[6] providing that Springfield Pie, the franchisee, would operate a Domino’s Pizza Store at 624 Boston Road in Springfield (Boston Road store or store). The franchise agreement generally provided that Springfield Pie would be bound by basic operational standards as set forth by Domino’s, but would otherwise exercise control over the day‑to‑day operations of the store. Springfield Pie hired Corey as a delivery driver in 2007 to work in the Boston Road […]
Police: Pair Charged with Stealing a Phone in New York Pizza
The following information was supplied by the Boston Police Department. Charges listed do not indicate convictions. A couple from Dorchester were charged with stealing a phone from a customer at New York Pizza on Monday night. Boston Police officers got a call for a larceny in progress in New York Pizza at 435 Massachusetts Ave. at around 12:48 a.m. on May 13. Dispatch told the officers that the suspects were a male and a female walking towards Tremont Street. The store employee told the police that they saw the man steal the victim’s phone while watching the security tapes from off the counter and leave the store. Officers noticed two people fitting the provided description at Tremont Street and North Hampton Street. According to the police report, the suspect told police that he had been in New York Pizza, but he did not steal a phone. The police noted that the woman appeared intoxicated and tried to walk away. Officers frisked the woman and allegedly found a phone in her shirt. Officer returned the phone to the victim. Officers charged Tanya Johnson of 1847 Dorchester Ave., and Carl Booker of 214 Harvard Street, Dorchester and charged them with larceny of $ 200 in a building. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch