Beatty’s Case (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-140-13)
Two-year limitations period for COLA reimbursement claims upheld as rationally related to pay-as-you-go funding system and annual budgeting process.
Lawyers
Commonwealth v. Joyce (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-141-13)
Conviction affirmed where defendant refused to leave burning home despite firefighter's orders and physically resisted removal, interfering with fire suppression.
Diamond Group, Inc. v. Selective Distribution International, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-139-13)
Nonresident purchaser subject to Massachusetts jurisdiction based on repeated large-volume orders placed electronically with Massachusetts supplier over twenty-one months, despite lack of physical presence in state.
Commonwealth v. Bradley (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-190-13)
Amendment narrowing school zone drug offense radius applies retroactively to pending cases, remedying overbroad prior law that disproportionately harmed urban and minority residents.
Commonwealth v. Pagan (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-191-13)
School zone statute retroactively applied to reduce protected radius from 1,000 feet to 300 feet for all pending cases.
Commonwealth v. Lee (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-192-13)
License suspension based on out-of-state OUI conviction does not satisfy G.L. c. 90, § 23, third paragraph; registry documents attesting to notice were inadmissible without testimony.
Doe, Sex Offender Registry Board No. 29481 v. Sex Offender Registry Board (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-138-13)
Sex offender classification hearing examiner's Facebook posts suggesting bias toward sex offenders required vacatur and new hearing to ensure due process.
Associated Industries of Massachusetts Mutual Insurance Company v. Hough (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-137-13)
Employee successfully defended recoupment action in Superior Court but denied attorney's fees because statute authorizes fees only for administrative proceedings.
Commonwealth v. Berrios (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-136-13)
Admission to sufficient facts waives challenge to defects in complaint. CPSL can be imposed following a continuance without a finding when statute explicitly references that disposition.
In the Matter of Burnbaum, Michael W. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-188-13)
Attorney disbarred for federal drug conspiracy conviction involving client, following reciprocal discipline proceedings after Florida resignation.