Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Decisions 2013
Date: December 31, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11318
Justia Opinion Summary: The Attorney General issued four citations to Plaintiffs for failing to pay the prevailing wage to certain employees. Plaintiffs appealed the citations to the Division of Administrative Law Appeals (DALA) under Mass.…
Date: December 24, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11453
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to a mandatory term of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Defendant was seventeen years old at the time of the offense. The U.S.…
Date: December 24, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11454
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant committed murder when he was seventeen years old. Defendant was subsequently convicted in the superior court of murder in the first degree and related weapons charges. While Brown was awaiting trial, the U.S.…
Date: December 23, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11331
Justia Opinion Summary: The Commonwealth filed five delinquency complaints against Defendant when he was seventeen years old based on the alleged sexual abuse of a victim. Defendant was summonsed into court on the complaints while he was still…
Date: December 18, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11330
Justia Opinion Summary: In each of these three consolidated cases plaintiff banks brought summary process actions against defendants, former homeowners-mortgagors, after foreclosure. Each defendant raised several defenses and counterclaims in…
Date: December 11, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11328
Justia Opinion Summary: John Doe, a female, pleaded guilty to several federal charges stemming from her prior management of an escort service, including sex trafficking of children. A hearing examiner of the Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB)…
Date: December 11, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11539
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was indicted on charges of murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and attempted armed robbery, among other charges. The Commonwealth filed a motion for a protective order to limit the discovery of…
Date: December 4, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11240
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a consumer telephone service complaint against Verizon New England. The Department of Telecommunications and Cable eventually dismissed Plaintiff's claim as moot because, during the course of the…
Date: November 26, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11297
Justia Opinion Summary: A delinquency complaint charged Juvenile with one count of possession of a class D substance (marijuana) with intent to distribute. Juvenile filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the complaint was not supported by…
Date: November 21, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11443
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury-waived trial, Defendant was convicted of operating a motor vehicle after his license had been suspended for operating while under the influence of alcohol (OUI). The court of appeals affirmed the conviction.…
Date: November 21, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11456
Justia Opinion Summary: On August 20, 2009, Defendant was charged with possession of a class B substance with intent to distribute and committing this violation within 1,000 feet of a preschool facility in violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 94C,…
Date: November 21, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11457
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with possession of a class D substance with intent to distribute and committing this violation within 1,000 feet of a preschool facility in violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 94C, 32J. While…
Date: November 12, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11382
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1996, Defendant pled guilty to various offenses, including uttering a false instrument, larceny, and receiving stolen property. Fifteen years later, Defendant filed a motion to withdraw his guilty pleas, contending…
Date: November 6, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11315
Justia Opinion Summary: After a police officer stopped Defendant's vehicle and conducted two field sobriety tests, the officer arrested Defendant. Defendant pleaded guilty to several alcohol-related driving offenses. After a jury trial,…
Date: October 30, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11320
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs here were commissioners of the Bristol County Mosquito Control Project, which operates under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 252 and is subject to oversight by the State Reclamation and Mosquito Control Board. Plaintiffs…
Date: October 17, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11323
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was stopped and subsequently arrested at a sobriety checkpoint conducted by the state police. Thereafter, Defendant was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol, third offense. Defendant filed a…
Date: October 7, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11366
Justia Opinion Summary: Leo Lawless, who held a license to practice pharmacy in the Commonwealth, had his license revoked by the Board of Registration in Pharmacy for a minimum of two years. Lawless failed to appear at an adjudicatory hearing,…
Date: October 3, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11314
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted for armed robbery and being a habitual offender. Defendant filed a motion to suppress the admission of his prearraignment statements that were made more than six hours after his arrest. A superior…
Date: September 27, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11248
Justia Opinion Summary: On ten separate indictments, Defendant was convicted of rape of a child, indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of fourteen, and indecent assault and battery on a child over the age of fourteen.…
Date: September 27, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11298
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted a distribution of a class B controlled substance and committing a drug offense within a school zone. Before trial, Defendant's counsel orally stipulated that the substance at…
Date: September 27, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11300
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of a Class B controlled substance, cocaine. During trial, a ballistics certificate and two certificates of drug…
Date: September 25, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11437
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of illegally prescribing controlled substances in violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 94C, 32A(a) and 32B(a), among other crimes. Defendant appealed, raising the issue of whether a physician…
Date: September 16, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11304
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the second degree for the shooting death of Brittany Perez. Eight bullets were fired at an apartment's front room window where Perez was standing, and four of the…
Date: September 16, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11334
Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) assessed a penalty against Plaintiff for improper handling and disposal of roof shingles that contained asbestos. Plaintiff appealed, arguing that, pursuant to the…
Date: September 16, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11343
Date: September 13, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11294
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, while visiting relatives in Andover, 29-year-old Aleo attempted to use an inflatable swimming pool slide that had been imported and sold by Toys R Us. She slid down head first; when she reached the bottom of the…
Date: September 13, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11400
Justia Opinion Summary: A Boston police officer witnessed Sylvain engaging in a sexual act with a prostitute. As the officer approached, Sylvain removed plastic baggies from his coat pocket and placed them in his mouth. Believing that the…
Date: September 11, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11289
Justia Opinion Summary: The Funds, closed-end investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, 15 U.S.C. 80a- 5(a)(1)(2), are organized as Massachusetts business trusts under G.L. c. 182. Plaintiffs are beneficial…
Date: September 11, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11290
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff's 11-year-old stepdaughter told the Sexual Assault Investigation Network (SAIN) that the plaintiff had engaged in sexual conduct with her since she was four years old. Before trial on the resulting charges, the…
Date: September 10, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11284
Justia Opinion Summary: After being billed by NEPT for medically necessary chiropractic services provided to the passenger of its insured, Liberty Mutual, claimed that the cost was unreasonably high and thus refused to pay the full amount…
Date: September 9, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11049
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, who admitted shooting his wife, but claimed “heat of passion,” was convicted of murder in the first degree with deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty. The Massachusetts Supreme Court…
Date: September 3, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-08921
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of the premeditated murder of his mother. Six years later, he sought a new trial, alleging that he had not been competent to stand trial. Defendant submitted an affidavit from a forensic…
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11370
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of sexual offenses. Before Defendant completed his sentences, the Commonwealth filed a petition to commit him as a sexually dangerous person. A superior court judge granted Defendant's motion to…
Date: August 28, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11287
Justia Opinion Summary: James Walsh, an electrician, became a member of the Massachusetts Teachers' Retirement System (MTRS) when he began teaching at a vocational school. Before the effective date of his retirement in 2006, Defendant applied…
Date: August 28, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11404
Justia Opinion Summary: A grand jury returned twenty-two indictments against Defendant, including indictments charging murder in the first degree and various counts of masked armed robbery. The charges arose out of a robbery of a department…
Date: August 23, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11369
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Defendant was indicted for distributing cocaine and for being a second or subsequent offender in violation of section Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 94C, 32A(d). In 2012, before Defendant's trial had commenced, the…
Date: August 12, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11157
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on the theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to…
Date: August 12, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11285
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against Defendants for failing to pay compensation he alleged was owed to him under an employment contract. The complaint asserted claims for, inter alia, breach of contract and violations of the…
Date: August 12, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11356
Justia Opinion Summary: Karl McGhee, a financial advisor at LPL Financial, acted as financial planner for Plaintiff. Plaintiff filed a complaint against McGhee and LPL, asserting claims for, inter alia, violations of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A.…
Date: August 9, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11238
Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Boston transferred a Boston police sergeant who served as a union representative due to what the City said were ongoing concerns about the officer's supervisory authority. The Boston Police Superior Officers…
Date: August 9, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11268
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of four charges of possession of firearms and ammunition. At issue on appeal was which two of four convictions must be vacated because they were duplicative. Defendant argued…
Date: August 9, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11273
Justia Opinion Summary: Insureds purchased a homeowner's insurance policy from Insurer with a personal liability limit of $500,000. The policy contained an animal liability endorsement (endorsement) which limited coverage to $25,000 for claims…
Date: August 9, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11277
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Cory Moody and David Newman were separately indicted for violations of the Controlled Substances Act arising from their alleged involvement in an organized group engaged in drug trafficking. Prior to trial,…
Date: August 9, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11293
Justia Opinion Summary: Luis Alicea pleaded guilty to a firearm offense and was sentenced to three and one-half years' incarceration. Alicea later filed suit in federal court against his former defense counsel, Lawrence McGuire, alleging that…
Date: August 8, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11295
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a New Hampshire resident, was issued a temporary nonresident unrestricted license to carry firearms in Massachusetts. After Defendant alarmed employees at a medical office during his medical appointment by…
Date: August 8, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11305
Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant sustained injuries in a car accident. The car was insured under a standard Massachusetts automobile insurance policy (auto policy) issued by Liberty Mutual that included optional "medical payments" coverage…
Date: August 7, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10832
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on theories of deliberate premeditation, extreme atrocity or cruelty, and felony-murder. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) trial counsel was…
Date: August 6, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11163,
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants were indicted on charges of armed robbery and other crimes in conjunction with the robbery of a gasoline station. The Commonwealth sought a buccal swab from each defendant for purposes of DNA testing of a…
Date: August 5, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11269
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs brought a medical malpractice action against a number of defendants, including Physician. After the medical malpractice tribunal determined there was not sufficient evidence to raise a legitimate question of…
Date: August 5, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11274
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs brought a medical malpractice action against a number of defendants, including Physician. A medical malpractice tribunal determined that there was not sufficient evidence to support a finding of liability as…
Date: August 2, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11243
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of possession with intent to distribute a class B controlled substance in connection with the death of Richard Beaulier. During trial, a toxicologist testifying as an expert…
Date: August 1, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11133
Justia Opinion Summary: In Feeney II, the Massachusetts Supreme Court affirmed the ruling of the superior court invalidating a class action waiver in the parties' arbitration agreement, holding that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) does not…
Date: August 1, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11175
Date: July 29, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11233
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1982, Plaintiff established the 1982 Trust, and four separate subtrusts therein, for the four sons of the Krafts. In 2012, Plaintiff, who had served as the sole and disinterested trustee of the trust and subtrusts,…
Date: July 22, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11167
Justia Opinion Summary: A police officer obtained a search warrant to search for Defendant in someone else's residence. When the police executed the warrant, they arrested Defendant and also discovered drugs inside the residence. After a jury…
Date: July 22, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11408,
Justia Opinion Summary: The three cases before the Supreme Court here involved the validity of certain procedures adopted by the superior court to handle postconviction matters in criminal cases where a defendant was convicted of a drug…
Date: July 19, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11182
Justia Opinion Summary: Employee's wife underwent surgery for removal of a brain tumor. After her tumor returned, Employer terminated Employee's employment. Employer terminated Employee because Employer was financially responsible for…
Date: July 18, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11174
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial judge did not err in finding Defendant failed to make a…
Date: July 16, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10395
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation for the stabbing death of his wife. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction, holding (1)…
Date: July 16, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10887
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions, holding (1) the superior court judge did not err in admitting…
Date: July 15, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11239
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a member of a public employee contributory retirement system, pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child. Plaintiff resigned his position of twenty-seven years upon being charged.…
Date: July 15, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11252
Justia Opinion Summary: After Defendants were charged with Medicaid fraud, the Commonwealth obtained search warrants to obtain and search designated e-mail accounts of Defendants' former billing director. Defendants moved for a protective…
Date: July 15, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11260
Justia Opinion Summary: After a second jury trial, John Irwin was convicted of indecent assault and battery on a child under fourteen. The appeals court later vacated Defendant's conviction and granted him a new trial, finding that the use of…
Date: July 15, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11266
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a subcontractor, filed an action to enforce a mechanic's lien on certain land. More than a year later, Defendants, acting as principal debtor and the surety, executed and recorded a surety bond to dissolve the…
Date: July 12, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11208
Justia Opinion Summary: While in the vicinity of a college, a campus police officer, appointed as a special State police officer pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 22C, 63, observed Defendant driving recklessly. The officer stopped Defendant's…
Date: July 12, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11237
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of assault by means of a dangerous weapon and several firearms charges. At trial, the Commonwealth proceeded under the theory that Defendant, who did not possess the gun used…
Date: July 12, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11250
Justia Opinion Summary: A union and college were parties to a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) containing a provision that the "granting or failure to grant tenure shall be arbitrable but any award is not binding." A professor at the…
Date: July 12, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11271
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs refinanced their home through Lender. The monthly payment on the loan was $600 greater than Plaintiffs' total monthly income. After the mortgage was funded, it was sold and assigned to Bank. Servicer serviced…
Date: July 11, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11262
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon. Defendant appealed, contending that the trial judge erred in giving a consciousness of guilt instruction pertaining to…
Date: July 11, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11265
Justia Opinion Summary: Karla Brown brought a lawsuit against Deutsche Bank and others seeking rescission of a note and first mortgage securing that note, alleging that she was the victim of a predatory lending scheme. The mortgage was…
Date: July 10, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11235
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of rape of a child with force and indecent assault and battery of a child under fourteen. Defendant appealed, arguing, among other things, that the superior court judge erred…
Date: July 10, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11267
Justia Opinion Summary: The Stefanidises divided a parcel into Lot A and Lot B. The Stefanidses converted the building on Lot A into three condominium units and applied for a variance to built a two-family house on Lot B. The variance was…
Date: July 10, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11371
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff retained Law Firm and its attorneys (collectively, Law Firm) to accomplish Plaintiff's foreclosure on a mortgage to certain property. A year after the foreclosure sale, while Law Firm was representing Plaintiff…
Date: July 9, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10940
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial court did not err in suppressing Defendant's statements…
Date: July 1, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11261
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs' employment with the Department of Correction was terminated due to allegations that Plaintiffs used excessive force against an inmate. Plaintiffs appealed the termination order to the Civil Service…
Date: June 24, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11351
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of various sexual offenses and sentenced to a term of imprisonment. Prior to Defendant's scheduled release, the Commonwealth sought to commit Defendant as a sexually dangerous person. Defendant…
Date: June 17, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10960
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on the theory of felony-murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. Defendant and Joseph Morgan were tried separately for the crimes. The Supreme…
Date: June 17, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11219
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant filed this action against the Massachusetts Trial Court, alleging that it violated Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B by not selecting Defendant for two different promotions based on her age. A jury found in Defendant's…
Date: June 17, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11282
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a janitorial cleaning services franchisee, along with franchisees from other states, filed a putative class action in the U.S. district court against Defendant, the Massachusetts corporation that franchised…
Date: June 17, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11350
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was incited for murder in the first degree and various counts of masked armed robbery. Pursuant to Mass. R. Crim. P. 14(b)(2), Defendant notified the Commonwealth that he intended to offer expert testimony…
Date: June 14, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11160
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants were two passengers and a driver in a vehicle pulled over by a police officer for a traffic offense. The defendant passengers left the scene despite the officer's order for them to return to the automobile.…
Date: June 14, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11215
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was a sex offender subject to the requirements of the Sex offender Registration and Community Notification Act. Following his release in prison, Defendant pleaded guilty to failing to register as a sex offender…
Date: June 14, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11229
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal was the last chapter in a case with a "long and tortuous procedural history." The sheriff of Suffolk County brought this appeal after Plaintiff, a jail officer employed by the sheriff, filed an action to…
Date: June 13, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10699
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on a theory of felony-murder, armed burglary, and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's…
Date: June 13, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11230
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. At trial, Defendant contended that he stabbed the victim to death in self-defense. The evidence indicated that the victim was the first to provoke…
Date: June 13, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11232
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of posing or exhibiting a child in a state of sexual conduct. The case was tried under the "live performance" prong of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, 29A(b). The Supreme Court…
Date: June 13, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11272
Justia Opinion Summary: Employee filed suit against Employer, a limited liability company (LLC), and two of its managers under the Massachusetts Wage Act for failing to pay compensation that was allegedly owed to him under an employment…
Date: June 12, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11133
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs commenced a putative class action against Defendant, alleging violations of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A. Dell successfully moved to compel arbitration according to an arbitration agreement signed by the parties.…
Date: June 12, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11175
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were individuals who entered into contracts with Defendants for the provision of janitorial services to third-party customers. Plaintiffs filed this putative class action, alleging that Defendants violated the…
Date: June 11, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11179
Justia Opinion Summary: Marie Evans died at fifty-four years old from small cell lung cancer caused by smoking cigarettes. Marie's son, Willie Evans, filed this action against Lorillard Tobacco Company (Defendant), the designer and manufacturer…
Date: June 10, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11181
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of indecent assault and battery in violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, 13H and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child in violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch.…
Date: June 7, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11326
Justia Opinion Summary: Jamie Melendez pleaded guilty to four counts of statutory rape of a child. As the result of Melendez's crimes, the victim gave birth to Melendez's biological child. The superior court ordered Melendez to acknowledge…
Date: June 5, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10782
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, and related firearm and ammunition offenses. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the…
Date: June 5, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10864
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant turned himself in after killing his wife and stepson. Defendant made a long statement to police in his native Portuguese. An officer fluent in both Portuguese and English contemporaneously translated the…
Date: June 5, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11227,
Justia Opinion Summary: John Rousseau and Michael Dreslinski (Defendants) were each convicted of four counts of arson, breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony, malicious destruction of property, and malicious…
Date: June 4, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11196
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1995, when he was fourteen years old, Plaintiff was adjudicated a delinquent child with respect to certain firearm charges. In 2010, Plaintiff applied for an unrestricted Class A license to carry firearms. The City of…
Date: May 31, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11211
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001, Plaintiff, a special education student at a public elementary school in the town of Duxbury, fell and sustained injuries while unsupervised at school. Plaintiff presented a claim to the town based on her…
Date: May 31, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11224
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, doing business as Spencer Brook Strings (SBS), rented string instruments to students in the Concord-Carlisle Regional School District. In 2011, the school district invited vendors of string instruments to bid…
Date: May 29, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-08782
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted on two indictments charging murder in the first degree on theories of deliberate premeditation, extreme atrocity or cruelty, and felony-murder. The jury also found Defendant…
Date: May 21, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10229
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendants were convicted of murder in the first degree on a theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty, assault by means of a dangerous weapon, and related offenses for shootings that took place on a…
Date: May 20, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11027
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on the theories of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty and of larceny of a motor vehicle. The Supreme Court affirmed…
Date: May 17, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11184
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, requiring him to register as a sex offender. Defendant was placed on probation by a superior court judge. Upon Defendant's motion seeking relief from the…
Date: May 17, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11185
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of fourteen years and rape of a child under the age of sixteen years. Defendant unsuccessfully moved for a judgment…
Date: May 17, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11222
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were individuals who lived in New York and worked there as couriers for Defendant, a corporation headquartered in Massachusetts. Plaintiffs brought this action in a Massachusetts court to enforce certain…
Date: May 16, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11154
Justia Opinion Summary: After falling down a staircase at a bar and restaurant in Boston, a college student died. Plaintiffs, the student's parents, filed this action against the restaurant and trustees of a trust that owned the land and…
Date: May 15, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11166
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants owned two-family and three-family rental properties in the City of Worcester. Defendants leased dwelling units in these properties to groups of four unrelated adult college students. The City determined that,…
Date: May 15, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11188
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was injured when he unsuccessfully tried to flip into an inflatable pool from a trampoline that had been set up directly adjacent to the pool in the backyard of a property he was renting from Defendants.…
Date: May 15, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11247
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to rape of a child and indecent assault and battery. When Defendant, who was homeless, failed to appear at the local police department to verify his registration information, the Commonwealth…
Date: May 14, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11183
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of assault with intent to murder and several firearms offenses. The appeals court affirmed. Defendant appealed, asserting, among other things, that the prosecutor misstated…
Date: May 14, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11263
Date: May 13, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11178
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001, Robert Riskind suffered a grand mal seizure while driving home from work, causing him to strike Plaintiff. Plaintiff sustained serious injuries as a result of the accident. Riskind's seizure was triggered by an…
Date: May 13, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11187
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of operating while under the influence of alcohol, fifth or subsequent offense, and possession of a class D substance greater than one ounce. Defendant appealed, arguing that the superior court…
Date: May 10, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10877
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder with deliberate premeditation, murder with deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty, armed assault with intent to murder, and unlawful possession of a…
Date: May 8, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11070
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff and Defendant were involved in an abusive relationship. Plaintiff and the parties' child moved out of Massachusetts but subsequently obtained an abuse prevention order, issued pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch.…
Date: May 8, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11278
Justia Opinion Summary: Six years after his convictions were affirmed and four years after the denial of his motion for a new trial was affirmed, Defendant filed a motion for relief from unlawful sentence, alleging that the trial judge…
Date: May 8, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11283
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal concerned an order of a superior court judge allowing Defendants' motions to suppress evidence obtained pursuant to a search warrant. A confidential informant (CI) informed Patrick Byrne, a Boston police…
Date: May 2, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11195
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted for murder in the first degree and for unlawful possession of a firearm and of ammunition as an armed career criminal. The Commonwealth sought to introduce at trial Defendant's three recorded…
Date: April 30, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11217
Justia Opinion Summary: Landlord and Tenant entered into a twelve-year lease for commercial space. The lease required a separate guaranty agreement to be executed by Guarantor. Tenant stopped making rent payments a couple of years later, and…
Date: April 24, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11152
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted on several counts of sexual assault of a child under the age of sixteen. The victim was a mute and autistic child, and Defendant was the victim's grandfather. Carrie, the victim's older…
Date: April 16, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10284
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial court did not err in denying Defendant's motions to…
Date: April 12, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-09558
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of murder in the first degree based on a theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding…
Date: April 11, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10942
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree of his wife on the theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty. the Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) there was sufficient evidence to support the…
Date: April 11, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11121
Justia Opinion Summary: Juvenile was arraigned in the juvenile court on a complaint alleging indecent assault and battery on a person under the age of fourteen. Juvenile pleaded delinquent and was placed on supervised probation for a period of…
Date: April 11, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11168
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff purchased real property after a real estate broker gave him incorrect information about the zoning classification of the property. Plaintiff was thereafter unable to use the property as he intended. Plaintiff…
Date: April 9, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11171
Justia Opinion Summary: G. Russell Damon filed with bar counsel a complaint regarding attorney Peter Farber's alleged fraudulent misrepresentation of certain facts in connection with a real estate purchase. After bar counsel filed a petition…
Date: April 5, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11214
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants were stopped by police officer for a motor infraction. The interior of the vehicle smelled of burnt marijuana, and in response to a question from the officer, the driver produced two bags containing marijuana.…
Date: April 5, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11216
Justia Opinion Summary: A State trooper was patrolling a state park when he spotted a vehicle parked in a handicapped parking space that did not display a handicapped placard. The trooper approached the driver's side window and smelled the…
Date: April 5, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11225
Justia Opinion Summary: After police found marijuana plants that collectively weighed less than one ounce growing in a closet in Defendant's home, Defendant was charged with cultivation of marijuana and committing that violation in a school…
Date: April 5, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11319
Justia Opinion Summary: Police officers observed Defendant sharing what appeared to be a marijuana cigarette with two others on a park bench. The officers seized the cigarette and conducted a warrantless search of Defendant's person and…
Date: April 4, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11161
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved multiple litigations among three parties - Insurer, insured Mortgagee, and Homeowner - arising out of a defect in the title to Homeowner's home. Insurer brought suit in the land court on behalf of…
Date: April 3, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11245
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of several criminal offenses. Defendant's appeal from his convictions was pending in the appeals court, where he was represented by counsel. Acting pro se, Defendant filed a motion in the appeals…
Date: March 27, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11098
Justia Opinion Summary: Demoulas Super Markets (DSM) was a closely held Massachusetts corporation. In this case, several minority Class A stockholders (Sellers), whose offer to sell their shares to DSM was rejected, brought an action seeking a…
Date: March 26, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11073
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of rape. The appeals court affirmed, concluding that any delay in bringing Defendant to trial did not violate Mass. R. Crim. P. 36. Defendant subsequently filed a motion for a…
Date: March 19, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11192
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of multiple criminal offenses in 2005. In 2010, Defendant filed a motion for a new trial and an amended motion for a new trial. Neither motion was acted on. Defendant also represented that he…
Date: March 19, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11193
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner commenced actions in the probate and family court seeking to have herself appointed guardian and conservator for her elderly father. A judge appointed a temporary guardian and a temporary conservator in 2011.…
Date: March 19, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11249
Justia Opinion Summary: The Fall River zoning board of appeals (Board) granted the C.B.L. Realty Trust (Trust) a variance for certain real property owned by it. The Fall River building inspector subsequently issued a notice of violation,…
Date: March 18, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10773
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant and his co-defendant were convicted of felony-murder in the first degree and armed robbery. The Supreme Court (1) affirmed Defendant's conviction of felony-murder in the first degree,…
Date: March 18, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11053
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of murder in the first degree and two counts of armed robbery. Defendant did not appeal. Nearly forty-five years later, Defendant filed a motion for a new trial,…
Date: March 18, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11288
Justia Opinion Summary: In the underlying case, a superior court jury convicted Keith Winfield of forcible rape of a child under the age of sixteen, indecent assault and battery of a child under the age of fourteen, and assault and battery of a…
Date: March 15, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10874
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and the denial of Defendant's motion for a new trial. Defendant later filed a second motion for a new…
Date: March 15, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11134
Justia Opinion Summary: This action arose from the Department of Environmental Protection's (Department) issuance of a waterways license under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 91 (chapter 91 license) to the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) to redevelop…
Date: March 15, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11135
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant purchased an "own occupation" disability insurance policy from an affiliate of Plaintiff, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife). After Defendant was diagnosed with cancer, Defendant's employment was…
Date: March 15, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11149
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of carrying a firearm without a license based on a theory of constructive possession. Defendant appealed, contending, among other things, that the Commonwealth failed to…
Date: March 14, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-08866a
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of the deliberately premeditated murder of his wife. The Massachusetts Supreme Court affirmed, but the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the judgment and remanded the case in light of the recent U.S.…
Date: March 14, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11086
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted on drug-related charges that included trafficking in cocaine over twenty-eight grams. During the trial, certificates of chemical analysis establishing the weight and identity of the substance…
Date: March 13, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11085
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, HipSaver, Inc., was a Massachusetts corporation engaged in the design, manufacture, and sale of hip protectors. In 2007, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published an article authored in…
Date: March 13, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11159
Justia Opinion Summary: Construction Company contracted with Subcontractor for construction of elements of an HVAC system. As partial collateral for a revolving line of credit, Subcontractor assigned to Bank its right to receive payment under…
Date: March 13, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11259
Justia Opinion Summary: Father of a sixteen-year-old daughter filed a complaint for protection under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 209A against Defendant, a twenty-four-year-old man, seeking to prevent his daughter from voluntarily engaging in a sexual…
Date: March 12, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11104
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father were divorced by a judgment of divorce dated 2008 that granted shared legal custody of the parties' child and physical custody to Mother. The judgment included an order directing Father to pay child…
Date: March 11, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11145
Justia Opinion Summary: Employees of Michaels Stores, Inc. request and record customers' zip codes in processing credit card transactions. Plaintiff, a customer of Michaels, filed an action on behalf of herself and a putative class of Michaels…
Date: March 7, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10248
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on the theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty. Defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress statements…
Date: March 7, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11120
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner sought release from commitment as a sexually dangerous person. After being found indigent, Petitioner filed a motion requesting that the judge authorize funds to retain the services of an independent qualified…
Date: March 7, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11136
Justia Opinion Summary: Premier Capital, LLC was in the business of debt acquisition, management, and collection. On July 3, 2007, Premier filed an action in the superior court alleging that it was the current holder of a sealed promissory note…
Date: March 4, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11137
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was employed by the City in 1983 and was discharged from his employment in 2007. At the time of his departure, Plaintiff had accrued fifty days of unused vacation time. Plaintiff was not paid for those vacation…
Date: March 1, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10795
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree, armed assault with intent to murder, and two counts of illegal possession of a firearm. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions, holding (1) the trial judge did…
Date: February 20, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11255
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant filed a document in the county court entitled "Defendant-Appellant's Interlocutory Appeal on Confrontation Clause With a Known Confidential Informant - Sixth Amendment" that was not accompanied by copies of any…
Date: February 15, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11147
Justia Opinion Summary: When Plaintiff became the subject of a federal indictment, the school department (Defendant) suspended her without pay from her position as a school adjustment counselor. Ultimately, the indictment was dismissed.…
Date: February 15, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11148
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted for aggravated rape, indecent assault and battery, and other related offenses. The charges were based on five separate incidents involving five female victims. During the pretrial proceedings, the…
Date: February 12, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10862
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on the theory of deliberate premeditation. Defendant appealed, arguing error in the admission of evidence, the prosecutor's closing argument, and…
Date: February 8, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11072
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal involved a dispute over property rights in a beach parcel. Two families, Plaintiffs and Defendants, owned the property upland from the beach. In 2004, Plaintiffs filed an action in the land court to quiet…
Date: February 8, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11087
Justia Opinion Summary: While serving a period of probation for unrelated convictions, Defendant allegedly sold crack cocaine to a confidential police informant. Prior to his probation revocation hearing, Defendant moved for disclosure of the…
Date: February 8, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11090
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff received housing assistance through the Massachusetts rental voucher program. Plaintiff rented an apartment in Chelsea and received her voucher through the Chelsea Housing Authority. In 2009, Plaintiff received…
Date: February 8, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11093
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband and Wife sought a divorce, and probate and family court judge issued a judgment of divorce providing that Husband's alimony obligation would be reduced after the parties' youngest child graduated from high school…
Date: February 8, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11094
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of kidnapping, assault by means of a dangerous weapon, assault and battery causing serious bodily injury, assault and battery, and malicious destruction of property. The court…
Date: February 8, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11099
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was on parole from his prison sentence for armed robbery and on probation for his conviction of rape of a child when, one evening, his parole officer investigated a possible violation of her directive that…
Date: February 8, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11108
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff served as superintendent of schools in the town of North Brookfield until 2005. Plaintiff's employment contract provided that, on his retirement, Plaintiff would be reimbursed thereafter for a percentage of his…
Date: February 8, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11231
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved two litigations in which directors-shareholders asserted claims against a closely-held corporation and its directors. The first litigation, brought in 2007, settled, and the instant lawsuit arose out…
Date: February 7, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11084
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of manslaughter. The principal question on appeal was whether, during a trial where the defendant raises a claim of self-defense and, pursuant to Commonwealth v. Adjutant, has…
Date: February 6, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11276,
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, Plaintiffs filed a complaint against a police officer and city, alleging that, in 1999, the officer entered Plaintiffs' convenience store, arrested two of the plaintiffs, and beat all of the plaintiffs. Two of…
Date: February 1, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11083
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, a criminal complaint was filed in the district court charging Defendant with the commission of an armed robbery that took place in 2000. More than ten years after the date of the armed robbery, a grand jury…
Date: January 30, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11118,
Justia Opinion Summary: Two sets of plaintiffs brought actions against the city of Worcester, alleging that the city was liable to them for nuisance, continuing nuisance, and continuing trespass arising from the discharge of effluent from the…
Date: January 29, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11071
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1995, Defendant was charged with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon and indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of fourteen. At the time, Defendant was a minor and primarily spoke Khmai.…
Date: January 29, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11076
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant had a valid license to carry a firearm in Massachusetts. Defendant owned a semiautomatic handgun, which he kept loaded and unlocked in a bedroom drawer in his home. Defendant was charged with violating Mass.…
Date: January 29, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11270
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant had a license permitting him to carry a firearm for all lawful purposes. After driving to work one day, Defendant attempted to obtain a gun locker key for the storage of his firearm during his work shift, but…
Date: January 25, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11256
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved a family dispute among the owners of several business entities (collectively, companies) that were established in connection with the operation of a chain of automobile dealerships. When the family…
Date: January 14, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10979
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged initially by complaint with murder. After Defendant was arraigned, the judge scheduled a probable cause hearing. However, due to several continuances requested by the prosecutor, the probable cause…
Date: January 14, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11058
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant and a codefendant were each convicted of assault and battery. Defendant subsequently filed a motion for a new trial, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. After a hearing, the court…
Date: January 14, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11063
Justia Opinion Summary: John Marino, who died before this action, owned Corporation. Defendant sold equipment to Corporation, which failed to pay Defendant. Defendant obtained a default judgment against Corporation but was unable to enforce the…
Date: January 14, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11100
Justia Opinion Summary: An LLC filed an application for a comprehensive permit with the zoning board of appeals to build five three-story buildings with 150 rental apartments. The board denied the application. On appeal, the Housing Appeals…
Date: January 14, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11101
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff bank (Bank) claimed to be the holder of a mortgage given by Defendant. Bank filed a complaint in equity in the land court under the Massachusetts Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act to determine if…
Date: January 11, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11106
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, Defendant was convicted of murder in the second degree. The conviction was affirmed on direct appeal. In 2007, in light of a decision by a Federal court, Defendant moved for a new trial, arguing that his right…
Date: January 9, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-10912
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a joint trial, a jury found Defendants, Terrence Brown and Nathan Rivera, guilty of murder in the first degree, armed assault in a dwelling, home invasion, and unlawful possession of a firearm. Rivera was…
Date: January 8, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11102
Justia Opinion Summary: Hollis Hills, LLC filed an application for a comprehensive permit with the zoning board of appeals of Lunenberg to build condominium units in townhouses. The board denied the application. The Massachusetts housing…
Date: January 2, 2013
Docket Number: SJC-11140
Justia Opinion Summary: After allegations of professional misconduct, the Board of Registration of Social Workers suspended Sandra Clark's license to practice as a licensed independent clinical social worker for five years. A single justice of…
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