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.
Appeals Court Opinions
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.
Santos v. U.S. Bank National Association, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-081-16)
Affirmed dismissal of § 35A claim under res judicata and summary judgment on HAMP-based negligence claim where no duty of care exists.
West Beit Olam Cemetery Corporation v. Board of Assessors of Wayland (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-080-16)
Tax exemption for cemetery property denied where residential lease contractually restricted land use during the assessment year despite future cemetery development plans.
Commonwealth v. Christie (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-079-16)
Convictions reversed where prosecution improperly used evidence of same-sex adult pornography to prove sexual interest in child victim.