Roe No. 1, et al. v. Children’s Hospital Medical Center, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-164-14)
Hospital employer owes no duty of care to patients injured by former employee years later at separate institution in different state.
SJC Opinions
Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association, Inc., et al. v. Tesla Motors MA, Inc., et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-163-14)
Car dealers lack standing to sue unaffiliated manufacturer for operating dealerships without franchise relationships.
Bower v. Bournay-Bower (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-162-14)
Judge lacked authority to appoint parent coordinator with binding decision-making power over non-consenting parent; order violated due process rights and unlawfully delegated judicial authority.
Commonwealth v. Holmes (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-161-14)
Defendant cannot receive credit for time served on a completed, unrelated, vacated sentence against later convictions.
Commonwealth v. Wall (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-160-14)
Murder conviction affirmed where defendant claimed he was too intoxicated to kill victim. Phone recordings and jury instructions on intoxication properly admitted.
Superintendent-Director of Assabet Valley Regional Vocational School District v. Speicher (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-159-14)
School librarian with professional status challenged suspension for conduct unbecoming. Court held arbitrators may review suspension merits and apply just cause standard of proof.
Commonwealth v. Quinn (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-158-14)
Vacated conviction for child rape where prosecutor improperly elicited expert testimony from victim's therapist implicitly vouching for victim's credibility.
Commonwealth v. Letkowski (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-157-14)
Prosecutor's references to defendant's invocation of Miranda rights constituted constitutional error but did not create substantial risk of miscarriage of justice where evidence of criminal responsibility was overwhelming.
Commonwealth v. Sullivan (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-156-14)
Conviction for accosting or annoying person of opposite sex affirmed where defendant called young woman 'little girl,' pursued her aggressively, demanded she enter his vehicle.
Plumb, et al. v. Casey (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-155-14)
Written statement of delivery is not a mandatory prerequisite for forming a valid fine art consignment under Massachusetts law; consignment arises from delivery, acceptance, and sale-on-commission agreement alone.