127 results for 'court:"Massachusetts Court Of Appeals"'.
J. Vuono affirms the summary judgment in favor of a Catholic college that it has the right to Colby Street based on the language in the deed to the college. While a Catholic company disputed the college’s right to the street based on the fact that its deed was signed within the same minute as, but slightly before, the college’s, the order the deeds were signed does not matter based on the simultaneous deeds doctrine. The company also failed to establish a prescriptive easement.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Vuono, Filed On: August 10, 2023, Case #: 22-P-479, Categories: Property, Real Estate
J. Green reverses and remands summary judgment against a couple by the town the couple sued. The prior judge determined that the couple did not include an expert opinion in their evidence that the town was unreasonable in its failure to prevent their improvements to the road abutting the couple’s property from causing flooding and erosion of their property, but the couple established that the town interfered unreasonably and substantially with their use and enjoyment of their property, and did not need an expert to do so successfully.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Green, Filed On: August 10, 2023, Case #: 22-P-641, Categories: Evidence, Property, Damages
J. Brennan affirms the lower court’s rulings on evidence and testimony in this child abuse and rape case. The first complaint witness was a child when the victim told her about the abuse and she is potentially biased as a relative of the defendant, but she testified she has no memory of plaintiff telling her about it. It is not necessary for more than one participant in a conversation to testify to authenticate the conversation, so the conversations admitted as evidence have been sufficiently authenticated. Affirmed.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: August 9, 2023, Case #: 21-P-33, Categories: Sex Offender, Assault, Child Victims
Per curiam, the Massachusetts Court of Appeals affirms a commission’s decision to vacate the termination of a police sergeant issued by a new mayor and instead discipline the sergeant by demoting him to police officer. The officer claims that he shouldn’t be disciplined at all because he was already given a written warning in the past for having shared photos of a female homicide victim by text and then acting as if he couldn’t recall having done so during an investigation, and he argues that the demotion would be punishing him twice for the same misconduct. However, in the past when he was issued the written warning, it was after he was charged with misuse of a cellphone during an investigation, whereas in this case he is being charged with untruthfulness.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: August 9, 2023, Case #: 22-P-134, Categories: Employment, Police Misconduct
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Per curiam, the Massachusetts Court of Appeals reverses a jury’s finding of guilt against the defendant because the judge made an error in allowing Facebook posts made by the defendant to be shared with the jury. The posts were evidence of poor character in the form of bigotry and racism but not evidence of the defendant being guilty of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, which is what he was on trial for. Reversed.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: August 8, 2023, Case #: 22-P-844, Categories: Evidence, Assault, Battery
Per curiam, the appellate court vacates the district court’s extension of an abuse prevention order against the father of a 17-year-old daughter, finding the mother’s abuse allegations against him involved no threats or attempts at physical violence and amounted to nothing more than a subjective and unspecified fear. Law enforcement is directed to destroy all record of the lower court order against the father. Vacated.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: August 7, 2023, Case #: 22-P-849, Categories: Evidence, Domestic Violence
Per curiam, the appeals court vacates the jury’s conviction of the defendant on indecent assault and battery as duplicative of his three convictions for child rape, which began with an invitation to watch cartoons. The ruling affirms the rape convictions and convictions for assault, battery and deadly threats by pulling the child’s hair, cursing her, hitting her head on furniture and in one instance of putting a knife to her throat.
The trial judge correctly denied the defendant’s request for a new trial arising from extraneous factors in jury deliberations. The defendant’s alleged “gang” tattoo and an ankle-monitoring bracelet were “insignificant in deciding the defendant’s guilt” because it was a case of “interfamilial sexual abuse [that] did not implicate concerns and dynamics surrounding gang issues.” The tattoo was “pretty innocuous.” Vacated in part and affirmed.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: August 7, 2023, Case #: 22-P-657, Categories: Fair Trial, Jury, Child Victims
Per curiam, the appeals court affirms a lower court’s denial of a new trial for a Ghana national and permanent resident of the U.S., convicted by a jury of resisting arrest by interfering with a police “john sting” of persons soliciting for prostitution. Sentenced to one-year probation, defendant appealed arguing that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to inform him that accepting the Commonwealth’s plea deal presented no adverse immigration consequences, while a conviction for resisting arrest could be a setback for his citizenship application. Defendant’s argument is unpersuasive. He followed his trial counsel’s pre-trial advice and spoke to an immigration attorney; he knew at the time of the plea offer that if he was convicted, his citizenship application could be barred for five years. Affirmed.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: August 7, 2023, Case #: 22P0965, Categories: Immigration, Ineffective Assistance, Prostitution
J. D’Angelo affirms the defendant’s rape conviction. The defendant knew the victim was intoxicated because his roommate pointed it out more than once, expressed fear that the victim would vomit on his bed, and the victim slurred her words and was unable to find her own apartment or identify where she was. Furthermore, the defendant was not impaired by drugs or alcohol.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: D’Angelo, Filed On: August 2, 2023, Case #: 22-P-583, Categories: Intent, Sex Offender, Assault
J. Wolohojian finds that the lower court properly determined that the Massachusetts Homestead Act protects a father's right to his home and choice not to give it up as a form of child support for his disabled daughter. The exemption to the Act for children of the homestead owner only applies if the children are minors. In this case, the daughter is an adult. However, a remand is necessary to determine whether the father has complied with his obligation to carry a $100,000 life insurance policy. Affirmed in part.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wolohojian, Filed On: July 25, 2023, Case #: 20-P-1321, Categories: Family Law
J. Hodgens finds that the lower court improperly found against a woman who sued a construction company for negligence after she tripped and fell over a protruding granite block. The lower court determined that the defect was too minor for a negligence claim, but the construction company had plans to correct the defect, which means it was aware of its existence and yet failed to correct it immediately or mark off the area. Vacated.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hodgens, Filed On: July 21, 2023, Case #: 22-P-716, Categories: Negligence, Premises Liability
J. Sacks remands and reverses a prior judgment regarding the claims that inmates serving life sentences brought against Department of Corrections (DOC) officials for a new standard operating procedure that prevents the inmates from sending funds directly to private individuals who are not in prison, or to businesses or organizations without invoices or order forms from the businesses or organizations they wish to send funds to. The new procedure conflicts with other DOC regulations and infringes on the inmates’ Fourteenth Amendment right to protection from being deprived of property without due process.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sacks, Filed On: July 17, 2023, Case #: 22-P-435, Categories: Constitution, Due Process, Prisoners' Rights
J. Wolohojian upholds the lower court’s decision not to hold a new trial in this gang murder case just because a juror failed to disclose she had a half-brother serving a sentence for a similar crime. Being fair and impartial does not require having no related experiences or no related opinions, thoughts or exposure to the subject matter in a case. Instead, it requires a willingness to accept the evidence and interpretation of laws particular to the case even if they contradict jurors’ related experiences, opinions, thoughts or exposure.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wolohojian, Filed On: July 10, 2023, Case #: 20-P-747, Categories: Constitution, Jury, Gangs
J. Green affirms a jury’s decision to require a lawyer, who terminated a contract with a law firm that wished to purchase his firm, to pay the would-be purchasing firm $350,316. The jury had jurisdiction despite their being a contract between the two parties because the contract failed to stipulate a judgment amount for the termination that occurred.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Green, Filed On: July 7, 2023, Case #: 22-P-850, Categories: Enforcement Of Judgments, Jurisdiction, Contract
J. Blake affirms a trustee’s motion to dismiss the trust’s remainder beneficiaries’ attempt to require her to provide them with documentation regarding the trust. While they are children of the trustee’s late husband from a prior marriage and would be entitled to the trust if the trustee died, she is only required as the current trustee to maintain the trust’s books and records, not to provide information from those books and records to remainder beneficiaries.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Blake, Filed On: July 7, 2023, Case #: 22-P-783, Categories: Trusts, Fiduciary Duty
J. Blake finds that a land court judge correctly determined a zoning board of appeals was wrong to deny a special permit to an applicant looking to build a pier over a saltmarsh. The area at the end of the pier, where the pier would touch the water, is a tidal flat just past the saltmarsh, not a tidal creek that is part of the saltmarsh. Affirmed.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Blake, Filed On: July 6, 2023, Case #: 22-P-803, Categories: Environment, Zoning, Water
J. Massing upholds the lower court's finding that inland property owners have an easement over a couple's waterfront property. The deed includes sufficient language referring to others' access to the way that leads to shore to put the couple on notice the property was encumbered with an easement.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Massing, Filed On: June 29, 2023, Case #: 22-P-159 , Categories: Property
J. Milkey upholds the lower court's refusal to alter a wife's alimony in a divorce case. The wife fails to support her claim her alimony should be adjusted based on the fluctuating exchange rate of the lira due to the parties' split of marital property in Turkey. Affirmed.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Milkey, Filed On: June 26, 2023, Case #: 22-P-829 , Categories: Family Law
J. Hodgens finds the lower court improperly found for a town on three police officers' action regarding the lower rate of pay they received while attending the policy academy. Despite labeling the new-hires as cadets during training, the relevant statute requires the town to pay them the wages they would receive as police officers. Vacated.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hodgens, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: 22-P-259 , Categories: Labor
J. Englander vacates the trial court's dismissal of a group of consumers' claim for injunctive relief pertaining to a tax they paid for a cell phone when it was bundled with cell phone services. Under the tax directive at issue, consumers are paying tax at more than the price they paid for the phone. Vacated in part.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Englander, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: 21-P-805, Categories: Tax, Consumer Law
J. Desmond upholds the lower court's dismissal of a doctor's negligence claim against another physician for reporting his alleged opioid dependency. The physician was protected by the limited immunity granted to those making a report to a peer review committee. Affirmed.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Desmond, Filed On: June 14, 2023, Case #: 22-P-4 , Categories: Health Care, Immunity