Wing v. Commissioner of Probation (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-204-15)
Sealed criminal records need not be disclosed under mandatory discovery rules. Privacy protections for sealed records take precedence over general criminal discovery requirements.
Commissioner
LaChance v. Commissioner of Correction, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-160-15)
Inmate's termination from garden program after disciplinary conviction held not a second sanction but permissible security-based removal under prison officials' discretion.
Ellis v. Commissioner of the Department of Industrial Accidents, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-148-15)
Administrative judge may review and reduce attorney fees and expenses in lump-sum workers' compensation settlements when unsubstantiated or excessive.
Ivey, et al. v. Commissioner of Correction, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-110-15)
Informal DOC policy denying DDU inmates credit toward sentences conflicted with amended 2006 regulations and was canceled as a matter of law. Reversed and remanded.
Brown v. Office of the Commissioner of Probation (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-086-15)
Commonwealth not liable for postjudgment interest on punitive damages in employment discrimination case, despite being subject to the statute.
Cantell, et al. v. Commissioner of Correction, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-078-15)
Inmates in special management units sought protections afforded to those in departmental segregation units. Appeals Court dismissed as moot after Supreme Judicial Court's LaChance decision mandated regulatory process.
Schussel, et al. v. Commissioner of Revenue (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-107-15)
Double assessment upheld for taxpayers who knowingly filed false returns reporting income amounts identical to those found false in federal tax evasion prosecution.
The First Marblehead Corporation, et al. v. Commissioner of Revenue (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-010-15)
Financial institution excise tax apportionment; whether loan portfolios should be assigned to servicers' locations or taxpayer's commercial domicile.
Subcontracting Concepts, Inc. v. Commissioner of the Division of Unemployment Assistance, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-147-14)
Driver classified as employee despite independent contractor contract; employer exercised substantial control and worker depended on single client.
Schussel, et al. v. Commissioner of Revenue (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-123-14)
Double tax assessment upheld where taxpayers failed to file state returns for nearly twenty years, then filed returns grossly underreporting income by millions based on fraudulent federal returns.