Commonwealth v. Castillo (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-091-16)
Appellate court vacates suppression order where trial judge's findings contradicted her own credited testimony about officer's observations of suspected drug transaction.
Appeals Court Opinions
Commonwealth v. St. George (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-090-16)
Drug distribution conviction affirmed where officers observed pickup, short suspicious drive to school parking lot, and defendant found with large cash sum and distribution documents.
Jose v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-089-16)
Mortgage lender must conduct face-to-face meeting with defaulting borrower before foreclosure on FHA-insured mortgage. Exemption for distant properties does not apply when lender maintains any branch office, including loan origination branches, within 200 miles.
Commonwealth v. Gilman (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-088-16)
Teacher convicted of rape and assault on student; Facebook chat messages properly authenticated and admitted; ineffective assistance claim properly declined on direct appeal.
Bank of America, N.A. v. Prestige Imports, Inc., et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-087-16)
Attorney's lien forfeited when lawyer withdraws without good cause, but retained under quantum meruit when client conduct destroys the attorney-client relationship.
Commonwealth v. Coates (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-086-16)
Court affirmed conviction of child sexual abuse where circumstantial evidence of identity, computer evidence, and victim testimony were sufficient despite defendant's exclusion of psychological profile testimony.
Fletcher Fixed Income Alpha Fund, Ltd., et al. v. Grant Thornton LLP, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-085-16)
Pension fund lost investment to manager fraud; court affirmed dismissal for lack of jurisdiction over auditor and failure to allege proximate cause against administrator.
Commonwealth v. Szewczyk (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-083-16)
Defendant convicted of animal cruelty after shooting neighbor's dog with pellet gun. Appeals Court affirmed, holding that unnecessary pain inflicted through intentional acts constitutes cruelty regardless of defendant's stated purpose.
Care and Protection of Vick (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-084-16)
Affirmed mother's unfitness determination based on deplorable home conditions, refusal to cooperate with child services, and poor judgment regarding child's welfare and needs.
Commonwealth v. Lark (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-082-16)
Parental privilege defense fails where repeated forceful strikes to a child were unreasonable and not for safeguarding welfare.