Champa v. Weston Public Schools, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-176-15)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.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-11838 MICHAEL CHAMPA vs. WESTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS & others.[1] Middlesex. September 9, 2015. – October 23, 2015. Present: Gants, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Duffly, Lenk, & Hines, JJ. Public Records. Municipal Corporations, Public record. School and School Committee, Public record, Special education. Education, Special educational needs. Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Privacy. Contract, Settlement agreement. Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on November 14, 2012. The case was heard by Angel Kelley Brown, J., on motions for judgment on the pleadings, and entry of final judgment was ordered by her. The Supreme Judicial Court on its own initiative transferred the case from the Appeals Court. Doris R. MacKenzie Ehrens for the defendants. Peter F. Carr, II, for the plaintiff. Mary Ellen Sowyrda, pro se, amicus curiae, was present but did not argue. The following submitted briefs for amici curiae: Maura Healey, Attorney General, & Peter Sacks, State Solicitor, for Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Stephen J. Finnegan for Massachusetts Association of School Committees, Inc. Amy M. Rogers, Catherine L. Lyons, & Melissa A. Curran for Lyons & Rogers, LLC. Robert E. McDonnell, Charles L. Solomont, Caitlin M. Snydacker, Peter G. Byrne, Matthew R. Segal, & Jessie J. Rossman for American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. BOTSFORD, J. In this case, the question presented is whether settlement agreements between a public school and the parents of a public school student who requires special education services are “public records” or exempt from disclosure. We conclude that the settlement agreements, regarding placement of students in out-of-district private educational institutions, are exempt from the definition of “public records” in G. L. c. 4, § 7, Twenty-sixth. The agreements qualify as “education records” under 20 U.S.C. § 1232g (2012 & Supp. II 2014), known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and as such, fit within exemption (a) of the definition of “public records,” G. L. c. 4, § 7, Twenty-sixth (a) (exemption [a]). The settlement agreements also contain information that relates to specifically named individuals, the disclosure of which may qualify as an “unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” and therefore fit within exemption (c), G. L. c. 4, § 7, Twenty-sixth (c) (exemption [c]). We further conclude, however, that the settlement agreements may be redacted to […]
Timperio v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Weston, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-103-13)
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 12‑P‑1158 Appeals Court NICOLAS TIMPERIO, trustee,[1] vs. ZONING BOARD OF APPEALSOF WESTON & another.[2] No. 12‑P‑1158. Suffolk. April 8, 2013. ‑ August 16, 2013. Present: Kantrowitz, Graham, & Wolohojian, JJ. Zoning, Variance, By-law, Lot, Lot size, Frontage. Civil action commenced in the Land Court Department on September 1, 2011. The case was heard by Gordon H. Piper, J., on motions for summary judgment. Nicholas P. Shapiro (Jeffrey T. Angley with him) for the plaintiff. Katherine D. Laughman for the defendants. GRAHAM, J. The plaintiff, Nicolas Timperio, trustee of the Newton Street II Trust, appeals from a decision of a judge of the Land Court granting summary judgment to the defendants and affirming the decision of the zoning board of appeals of Weston (board) denying Timperio’s application for a variance and special permit for a parcel comprised of lots 8 and 9 as shown on a plan dated April 8, 1925, and recorded on April 21, 1925 (the 1925 plan). Albeit for reasons different from those stated by the judge, we affirm. Background. On December 1, 1994, by a single deed, Nicolas and Robin Timperio took title to lots 7, 8, and 9, each fronting on Newton Street in Weston, as shown on the 1925 plan. Lot 7 contains approximately 23,550 square feet with 106 feet of frontage; lot 8 contains approximately 18,410 square feet with 106.2 feet of frontage; and lot 9 contains 6,467 square feet with 73.4 feet of frontage. Lots 8 and 9 together contain 24,877 square feet and 179.6 feet of frontage. When considered as a single parcel, the three lots together contain 48,427 square feet and 285.6 feet of frontage. Shortly after the lots were created in 1925, lot 7 was sold separately from lots 8 and 9. Lots 8 and 9 have never been in separate ownership from one another, and the plaintiff concedes they have merged for purposes of zoning. Lot 7 remained in separate ownership from lots 8 and 9 until 1984 when Richard and Jane Cutter, who had taken title to lot 7 in 1967, took title to lots 8 and 9 as well. The three lots thereafter remained in common ownership and were conveyed to the Timperios by a single deed in 1994. Weston first adopted its zoning by-law […]