Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association, Inc., et al. v. Tesla Motors MA, Inc., et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-163-14)
Car dealers lack standing to sue unaffiliated manufacturer for operating dealerships without franchise relationships.
Weekly
Bower v. Bournay-Bower (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-162-14)
Judge lacked authority to appoint parent coordinator with binding decision-making power over non-consenting parent; order violated due process rights and unlawfully delegated judicial authority.
Minkina v. Frankl, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-114-14)
Employment law firm not negligent for failing to anticipate Supreme Judicial Court's overruling of established appeals court precedent on arbitration of discrimination claims.
Commonwealth v. Holmes (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-161-14)
Defendant cannot receive credit for time served on a completed, unrelated, vacated sentence against later convictions.
Commonwealth v. Wall (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-160-14)
Murder conviction affirmed where defendant claimed he was too intoxicated to kill victim. Phone recordings and jury instructions on intoxication properly admitted.
Superintendent-Director of Assabet Valley Regional Vocational School District v. Speicher (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-159-14)
School librarian with professional status challenged suspension for conduct unbecoming. Court held arbitrators may review suspension merits and apply just cause standard of proof.
Commonwealth v. Quinn (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-158-14)
Vacated conviction for child rape where prosecutor improperly elicited expert testimony from victim's therapist implicitly vouching for victim's credibility.
Commonwealth v. Cahoon (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-112-14)
Affirmed sexually dangerous person designation where experts testified defendant presented moderate-to-high reoffense risk; treatment termination evidence admissible.
Commonwealth v. Torres (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-113-14)
Affirmed convictions for rape and indecent assault on children. Trial judge properly denied motion for severance, admitted evidence of similar pattern, and managed evidentiary rulings.
Welch-Philippino, et al. v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Newburyport, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-111-14)
Reconstruction of dimensionally conforming structure devoted to nonconforming use permitted without special permit where use does not substantially change.