Clark, et al. v. Leisure Woods Estates, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-019-16)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.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 15-P-366 Appeals Court DOUG CLARK & others[1] vs. LEISURE WOODS ESTATES, INC. No. 15-P-366. Franklin. November 13, 2015. – February 23, 2016. Present: Milkey, Carhart, & Massing, JJ. Damages, Breach of covenant of quiet enjoyment, Breach of implied warranty of habitability, Consumer protection case. Landlord and Tenant, Quiet enjoyment, Habitability, Consumer protection, Multiple damages, Snow and ice. Consumer Protection Act, Damages, Landlord and tenant. Manufactured Housing Community. Snow and Ice. Practice, Criminal, Witness. Civil action commenced in the Western Division of the Housing Court Department on November 2, 2009. The case was heard by Robert G. Fields, J. Timothy N. Schofield for the defendant. Jan Stiefel for the plaintiffs. MASSING, J. This appeal involves a series of landlord-tenant disputes in the manufactured housing context. The plaintiffs, residents of Leisure Woods Estates (Leisure Woods), a manufactured housing community in Orange, filed a complaint alleging that the defendant, Leisure Woods Estates, Inc., which owns, operates, and maintains Leisure Woods, failed to properly maintain and repair the common spaces, roads, and home sites. After a jury-waived trial, a judge of the Housing Court entered judgment in favor of plaintiffs representing seven households,[2] finding a breach of the implied warranty of habitability with respect to the condition of the roads, interference with the plaintiffs’ quiet enjoyment of the common walking trails, and separate and distinct breaches of the covenant of quiet enjoyment with respect to the conditions of the seven individual home sites. The judge awarded injunctive relief and monetary damages for the violations, including two separate awards of three months’ rent to each household under G. L. c. 186, § 14 (§ 14), for the breaches of the covenant of quiet enjoyment, and a twenty percent rent abatement, trebled under G. L. c. 93A (c. 93A) and the Attorney General’s regulations promulgated thereunder, for the breach of the warranty of habitability. The judge awarded each household $ 13,010.40 (a total of $ 91,072.80), plus attorney’s fees and costs. On appeal, the defendant argues that the judge erred in awarding multiple triple rent damage awards under § 14 for separate breaches of the covenant of quiet enjoyment, in applying the warranty of habitability to potholes and accumulations of ice and snow on the roads, and in excluding the testimony of a “vital witness” for the defendant who did not arrive in court until […]
Commonwealth v. Clark (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-115-15)
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-11815 COMMONWEALTH vs. TYRONE J. CLARK. Suffolk. March 2, 2015. – July 9, 2015. Present: Gants, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Duffly, Lenk, & Hines, JJ. Deoxyribonucleic Acid. Evidence, Scientific test, Exculpatory, Relevancy and materiality. Statute, Construction. Practice, Criminal, Postconviction relief, Discovery. Indictments found and returned in the Superior Court on August 10, 1973. A postconviction motion for scientific or forensic analysis, filed on August 5, 2013, was heard by Thomas A. Connor, J. The Supreme Judicial Court on its own initiative transferred the case from the Appeals Court. Neil D. Raphael for Tyrone J. Clark. Donna Jalbert Patalano, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth. Lisa M. Kavanaugh & Ira L. Gant, Committee for Public Counsel Services, & Denise McWilliams & Chauncey B. Wood, for Committee for Public Counsel Services Innocence Program & others, amici curiae, submitted a brief. SPINA, J. On January 23, 1974, a Suffolk County jury convicted Tyrone J. Clark of rape, G. L. c. 265, § 22; unarmed robbery, G. L. c. 265, § 19; and kidnapping, G. L. c. 265, § 26. The Appeals Court affirmed the convictions in a published opinion. See Commonwealth v. Clark, 3 Mass. App. Ct. 481 (1975). On January 14, 2000, he filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied. Clark was paroled in 2005, but his parole was revoked when he pleaded guilty on May 25, 2006, to larceny over $ 250, G. L. c. 266, § 30 (1). In 2012, the Legislature enacted G. L. c. 278A, “An Act providing access to forensic and scientific analysis” (act). St. 2012, c. 38. “The enactment, which occurred in the wake of national recognition that ‘DNA testing has an unparalleled ability both to exonerate the wrongly convicted and to identify the guilty,’ District Attorney’s Office for the Third Judicial Dist. v. Osborne, 557 U.S. 52, 55 (2009), permits access to forensic and scientific evidence on the filing of a motion by an individual who has been convicted of a criminal offense, who consequently has been incarcerated, and who asserts factual innocence.” Commonwealth v. Wade, 467 Mass. 496, 497 (2014). See G. L. c. 278A, § 2. The purpose of the act was “to remedy the injustice of wrongful convictions of factually innocent persons by allowing access to analyses of biological […]
Pet of the Week: Clark, 1-Year-Old Jack Russell Mix
Looking to adopt a pet? Now up for adoption at the Animal Rescue League of Boston is Clark. Clark is a one-year-old Jack Russell terrier mix who was found as a stray on the streets of Charlestown. Clark is an active boy with a lot of energy looking for a job to do and a family to please. His enthusiastic bark would make him a better candidate for a house rather than an apartment. We would recommend Clark go to a home with older children and an active family as he is still learning his basic manners. He does have some skin allergies so his new owners should be willing to consult their veterinarian on this issue. If you want a fun, high energy dog to become a member of your family, Clark is your guy! For more information on Clark or any of the other animals currently residing at the Animal Rescue League of Boston, call 617-226-5602. The Animal Rescue League of Boston is open Tuesday through Thursday 1-7 p.m. and Friday through Sunday 1-4 p.m., excluding some holidays. For more information, see the ARL Boston website, Twitter and Facebook page. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch