Commonwealth v. Rosario (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-065-13)
Circumstantial evidence sufficiently proved the defendant intended to intimidate a witness to a criminal proceeding when he threatened the victim in a courthouse hallway.
Appeals Court Opinions
Chow v. Merrimack Mutual Fire Insurance Company (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-062-13)
Homeowner's insurance exclusion for frozen-pipe damage turns on whether the insured used reasonable care to maintain heat while property was unoccupied. Reversed because jury instruction improperly attributed caretaker's negligence without determining relationship between principal and agent.
Citizens Bank of Massachusetts v. Coleman (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-063-13)
Resulting trust arose when husband transferred rental properties to wife nominally to shield assets from creditors, not as gift, despite gratuitous family transfer presumption.
Commerce Insurance Company, Inc. v. Alvarado, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-060-13)
Massachusetts no-fault insurance exemption from tort liability applies to out-of-state insurance benefits when they cover the same losses as Massachusetts PIP benefits.
Iv v. Hang (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-061-13)
Judge properly allocated income tax dependency exemptions to noncustodial parent in divorce judgment; federal tax law did not preempt state court authority to make such allocations.
Ajemian, et al. v. Yahoo!, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-057-13)
Estate administrators seeking their brother's email account contents may pursue Massachusetts suit despite forum selection clause in Yahoo's Terms of Service.
Commonwealth v. Rivera (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-058-13)
First complaint testimony of sexual abuse properly admitted one week after victim initially disclosed only physical abuse; rescue plan evidence admissible; mental health records subpoena denied.
I.S.H. v. M.D.B. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-056-13)
Reversed and remanded. Paternity judgment against nonresident father lacks validity where trial judge failed to find personal jurisdiction existed, relying instead on waiver theories.
Adoption of Norbert (and a companion case) (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-055-13)
Mother appealed termination of parental rights and dispensing with consent to adoption. Court affirmed despite judge's excessive questioning of witnesses, finding no due process violation.
Devlin v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-053-13)
Civil commitment facility resident assaulted by criminal inmate trustee. Commonwealth liable for violating statutory duty to house civilly committed separately from convicted criminals.