Minkina v. Frankl, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-114-14)
Employment law firm not negligent for failing to anticipate Supreme Judicial Court's overruling of established appeals court precedent on arbitration of discrimination claims.
Appeals Court Opinions
Commonwealth v. Cahoon (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-112-14)
Affirmed sexually dangerous person designation where experts testified defendant presented moderate-to-high reoffense risk; treatment termination evidence admissible.
Commonwealth v. Torres (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-113-14)
Affirmed convictions for rape and indecent assault on children. Trial judge properly denied motion for severance, admitted evidence of similar pattern, and managed evidentiary rulings.
Welch-Philippino, et al. v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Newburyport, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-111-14)
Reconstruction of dimensionally conforming structure devoted to nonconforming use permitted without special permit where use does not substantially change.
Commonwealth v. Gonzalez (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-109-14)
Conviction reversed where trial judge failed to conduct voir dire after jurors reported one juror fell asleep during evidence, despite receiving reliable information of the juror's inattentiveness.
Realty Finance Holdings, LLC v. KS Shiraz Manager, LLC, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-110-14)
Sophisticated parties' fully integrated LLC agreements with integration clause cannot be varied by parol evidence of prior negotiations or alleged oral conditions precedent.
Commonwealth v. Coppinger (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-108-14)
Man convicted of open and gross lewdness for wearing translucent shorts displaying genitals and buttocks in store. Statute not unconstitutionally vague; exposure includes display through see-through covering.
Kelso v. Kelso (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-107-14)
Former spouses' tort claims following divorce are not barred by claim or issue preclusion merely because related conduct was considered in the divorce proceedings.
Litchfield’s Case (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-106-14)
Worker injured on job receives compensation for physical injuries and resulting psychiatric disability through standard physical impairment ratings; separate psychiatric impairment rating denied.
Commonwealth v. Alves (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-104-14)
Criminal record expunged where innocent defendant was charged due to clerical error and was never law enforcement's intended target.