Bank of America, N.A., et al. v. Babcock, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-176-14)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC-11651 BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. & another,[1] trustees,[2] vs. VICTORIA BABCOCK & others.[3] October 28, 2014. Trust, Taxation. Taxation, Marital deduction. Practice, Civil, Declaratory proceeding. The trustees of the Indenture of Trust of Hollis W. Plimpton, Jr., dated June 24, 1964, as amended, also known as the Hollis W. Plimpton, Jr. Family Trust (trust), filed a complaint in the county court, pursuant to G. L. c. 231A, seeking a declaration that the trust as drafted correctly expresses the intent of Hollis W. Plimpton, Jr. (settlor) that his estate be eligible to obtain the optimal benefit of allowable Federal and State estate tax marital deductions.[4] Alternatively, the trustees seek an order rewording a portion of the trust to ensure that it accomplishes the settlor’s intent, pursuant to G. L. c. 215, § 6. A single justice of this court reserved and reported the case to the full court. Litigants have sought reformation of trusts, and judicial declarations of rights in will and trust cases, from this court in a variety of situations under the Bosch rubric. See Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Estate of Bosch, 387 U.S. 456 (1967). The cases raise issues of State law, which the parties have asked us to resolve because of their Federal tax implications. See Walker v. Walker, 433 Mass. 581, 582 (2001); Kirchick v. Guerry, 429 Mass. 215, 217 (1999) (court decides State law issues in Bosch cases, not Federal law issues). “We have decided [such] cases . . . not only when the parties have been actively engaged in disputes with the Internal Revenue Service, but also, on occasion, when the parties have sought decisions that would enable them to plan their estates correctly and to prepare effectively for future tax consequences.” Walker v. Walker, supra at 582-583 (2001). See Shawmut Bank, N.A. v. Buckley, 422 Mass. 706, 709-710 (1996); Billings v. Fowler, 361 Mass. 230, 233-234 (1972). In the latter category, our cases have involved situations where there is a clear mistake in the drafting or some real uncertainty about the meaning of an instrument that would lead inevitably to adverse tax consequences in the future. See, e.g., Hillman v. Hillman, 433 Mass. 590 (2001). See also Linehan v. Linehan, 453 Mass. 1017, 1018 (2009), and cases cited. These features are noticeably absent from the case before us. There is […]
Bank of America, N.A. v. Rosa (and three consolidated cases) (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-198-13)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC‑11330 BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. vs. CEFERINO S. ROSA (and three consolidated cases[1]). Essex. September 9, 2013. ‑ December 18, 2013. Present: Ireland, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Gants, Duffly, & Lenk, JJ. Mortgage, Foreclosure. Summary Process. Housing Court, Jurisdiction. Practice, Civil, Summary process, Affirmative defense, Counterclaim and cross‑claim. Jurisdiction, Summary process, Housing Court, Equitable. Uniform Summary Process Rules. Rules of Civil Procedure. Statute, Construction. Summary process. Complaints filed in the Northeast Division of the Housing Court Department, two on February 6, 2012, and one each on January 20, 2012, and April 2, 2012, respectively. Motions to strike and to dismiss affirmative defenses and counterclaims were heard by David D. Kerman, J. Proceedings for interlocutory review were heard in the Appeals Court by Mary T. Sullivan, J., and the cases were consolidated and reported by her to the Appeals Court. The Supreme Judicial Court granted an application for direct appellate review. Phoebe N. Coddington, of North Carolina (Jennifer E. Greaney & Stephen C. Reilly with her) for Bank of America, N.A., & another. Thomas J. Santolucito (Rachel B. Meisterman with him) for Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. Richard M.W. Bauer (Eloise P. Lawrence with him) for Ceferino S. Rosa & others. Marylyn E. Flores (David S. Flores with her) for Gerard J. Cioffi. Benjamin O. Adeyinka, for The Real Estate Bar Association of Massachusetts, Inc., & another, amici curiae, submitted a brief. Arielle Cohen & Charles Delbaum, for National Consumer Law Center, amicus curiae, submitted a brief. SPINA, J. In each of these consolidated appeals the plaintiff bank brought a summary process action against the former homeowner-mortgagor in the Housing Court after foreclosure. Each former homeowner raised various defenses and counterclaims in his or her answer to the complaint that challenged the bank’s right to both possession and title as derived through foreclosure sale, as well as other defenses and counterclaims. In each case the bank filed a motion to strike the affirmative defenses and to dismiss the counterclaims on grounds that the only defenses and counterclaims available in summary process are (1) those allowed by G. L. c. 239, § 8A, which does not apply here because there was no landlord-tenant relationship between the parties, and (2) a challenge to title (and thereby possession) based only on a failure to comply […]
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Bank of America To Unveil New ATMs in Boston
Bank of America customers in Boston soon will be able to connect with tellers via ATMs, part of the company’s new plan for rebranding. The new interactive ATMs, which are launching first in Boston, will allow customers to video chat with bank tellers and take advantage of other services, the Boston Globe reported. The new ATMs also will allow customers to cash checks for the exact amount down to the cent and will offer cash removal in additional amounts, including $ 1, $ 5, $ 20 and $ 100, the Globe reported. The machines first will go up at Bank of America’s Back Bay center, located at 133 Massachusetts Ave., with other machines going up around the city and in other parts of the country later this year, according to the Globe. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
South End’s Cathedral: A ‘Good Sign’ New Pope is from Latin America
After a short conclave, cardinals at the Vatican announced Wednesday that Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected the new pope and would call himself Pope Francis. Parishoners at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End said they were a little sad – but also happy – that Boston Cardinal SeanO’Malley wasn’t selected. “They always say anyone that has press before the conclave will go in and come out a cardinal – it’s always that quiet one, the one that isn’t on the radar,” said Bob Travers Jr., a pastoral associate at the cathedral. Travers said that the South End church where Cardinal O’Malley is in residency would have lost their Cardinal, and possibly their Father Kevin J. O’Leary, too, to Rome, so the announcement is bittersweet. “Now, we’ve still got them both,” he said. Pope Francis 76, is the 266th pontiff of the Catholic Church. He’s not only the first to be called Francis, he’s also the first pope from South America, the first Jesuit, and the first non-European pope in more than 1,000 years. Travers said he thinks it’s a good sign that someone from Latin America was chosen to lead the Catholic church. “The future of the church is in Latin America and Africa, and I think the Cardinals recognized that,” he said. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch