Flagg v. AliMed, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-137-13)
Employee states cognizable employment discrimination claim when fired because spouse's disability creates costly medical expenses under employer's health plan.
SJC Opinions
Commonwealth v. Issa (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-136-13)
Affirmed. Conviction upheld for first-degree murder by strangulation. Peremptory challenge of sole African-American male juror permissible under totality of circumstances; late-disclosed clothing admissible with credibility safeguards; unrecorded statement instruction inapplicable.
Commonwealth v. Reavis (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-134-13)
Murder conviction affirmed where defendant stabbed wife; substitute medical examiner's improper testimony harmless; individual voir dire on domestic violence not required.
Commonwealth v. Franklin (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-135-13)
Murder conviction affirmed where defendant sold victim fake cocaine, victim threatened defendant's mother's home, and defendant later shot victim after angry confrontation.
NES Rentals v. Maine Drilling & Blasting, Inc., et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-133-13)
Amended complaint to enforce lien dissolution bond relates back to original lien enforcement complaint, satisfying ninety-day deadline.
Herrick v. Essex Regional Retirement Board, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-132-13)
Public employee denied retirement benefits when he resigned. Court reversed denial but disagreed on interest rate owed on retroactive award.
Preventive Medicine Associates, Inc., et al. v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-130-13)
Post-indictment email searches via warrant are permissible with court approval of search protocols and defendant participation. Taint teams may identify privileged communications if properly structured with judicial oversight.
Drakopoulos, et al. v. U.S. Bank National Association, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-126-13)
Assignee of high-cost mortgage loan liable for origination violations; material fact disputes preclude summary judgment on predatory lending claims.
Commonwealth v. Smeaton (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-127-13)
Campus police officer authorized to stop vehicle for reckless driving on public way intersecting college campus; section 63 extends authority to land used by college and its environs.
Massachusetts Community College Council v. Massachusetts Board of Higher Education/Roxbury Community College (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-128-13)
Arbitration of collective bargaining dispute over denial of tenure: whether arbitrator's award was binding when contract made awards concerning tenure nonbinding.