Beliveau v. Ware (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-074-15)
Partnership dissolution agreement entitles member to equipment ownership; defendant's refusal to sell and exclusive use constitutes conversion.
Weekly
Ramos, et al. v. International Fidelity Insurance Company (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-073-15)
Agent misappropriated bail collateral and insurance premiums. Principal remained liable for agent's acts within actual authority despite agent acting for personal gain. Consumer Protection Act violation based on illegal premium overcharges.
Commonwealth v. Costa (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-116-15)
Juvenile offender sentenced to consecutive life sentences may receive resentencing hearing to consider concurrent sentences following invalidation of mandatory life-without-parole scheme.
Commonwealth v. Clark (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-115-15)
Postconviction DNA testing statute requires proof that evidence exists, not that biological material is present on evidence, to proceed with forensic analysis.
Commonwealth v. Gorham (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-114-15)
Murder conviction affirmed where defendant claimed ineffective assistance for failing to investigate voluntary intoxication defense; newly discovered evidence rejected.
Showtime Entertainment, LLC v. Town of Mendon, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-113-15)
Town bylaw banned alcohol at adult entertainment establishments citing crime prevention. Court upheld countervailing state interest but struck down the restriction as overbroad.
Vigiard v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-112-15)
Defendant seeking interlocutory appeal of DNA testing denial failed to show ordinary appellate review was inadequate, so Supreme Judicial Court's superintendence power was not available.
Shipps v. District Attorney for the Norfolk District (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-111-15)
Convicted murderer cannot use declaratory relief action to bypass gatekeeper procedures for challenging sentence's constitutionality thirty years after conviction.
Doyle v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-110-15)
Double jeopardy and ineffective assistance claims properly denied where adequate alternative remedies available and claims could have been raised on direct appeal.
Commonwealth v. Companonio (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-109-15)
Single justice's denial of leave to appeal from postconviction motion is final and unreviewable; no appeal lies to full court.