Blog
Recent Blog Posts
Do I need to have damages to have a valid legal tort claim in Massachusetts?
Answer: Yes, in some form, examples being actual damages, injury in fact, or the invasion of a legally protected interest under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act. It is often that people believe that they have been wronged and the question arises, but do you have damages? For the most part, unless you have damages, you […]
If I am not paid by an employer that is an LLC, do I have a claim against the manager of the LLC personally in addition to the LLC itself?
18 January 2016 Answer: You might. The Massachusetts Wage Act is a sweeping statute that imposes personal liability on officers of corporations for non-payment of wages in addition to the corporate entity itself. Most recently, that liability was formally expanded to managers of LLC’s as long as they are considered a “person having employed in […]
Some concepts to expect to face in a Massachusetts housing court eviction case.
When facing an eviction case, there are some typical legal concepts that will be in play that could change the course of events. These concepts that will be discussed herein along with some practical items first. When faced with an eviction, tenants usually fight back by raising counterclaims. This is easy enough to do as […]
If a third party pays for the legal representation of another person, are they entitled to keep tabs on the case and have input in decisions and actions taken?
No. It is common for some potential clients that need legal help to seek and need a third party to pay for the legal representation. In that case, it is also common for that third party payer to expect to have access to the communications between the attorney and client and have input on decision […]
What is the fastest way to appeal a Massachusetts district court decision?
The answer is the expedited appeal under Rule 8A of the Massachusetts District/Municipal Courts Rules for Appellate Division Appeals. An appeal under this rule was designed to be the fastest of the three avenues of appeal of a district court decision, namely the expedited appeal under Rule 8A, the agreed statement of the case under […]
Am I able to obtain an injunction against a person to stop them from continuing to defame me?
Maybe, to a limited extent, and likely only after it has been determined that the speech is in fact defamatory. Keep in mind, we are discussing a different type of relief than what one can obtain through typical restraining and harassment protection orders under Mass. Gen. Laws c. 209A and c. 258E. What we are […]
What are the legal steps that a mortgage lender has to satisfy in order to properly foreclose on my home in Massachusetts?
Initially, one must understand that Massachusetts is one of the states that allows a mortgage lender to avoid filing suit in court to obtain approval to foreclose, etc. For this reason, Massachusetts is known as a “non-judicial foreclosure” state. Mortgage lenders in Massachusetts almost always have what is known as the “power of sale” in […]
Do I have a defamation claim against someone that claims he was only expressing his opinion?
26 May 2015 Answer: It depends. Statements that are determined to strictly be the expression of an opinion after all underlying facts are presented are not actionable. However, someone simply couching a defamatory statement as an opinion does not make it an opinion and is actionable. It takes a legal analysis and legal opinions on […]
I have a legal controversy or disagreement that I want resolved but there is no pending court case, how do I resolve it?
12 May 2015 Answer: File for a declaratory action under chapter 231A section 1 of the Massachusetts General Laws. Many people face the situation of having a legal conflict or disagreement and want it resolved, but if there is no pending civil action, they are left with uncertainty. They are unaware of how to resolve […]
A clerk refuses to accept my documents for filing in Massachusetts, what should I do?
4 April 2015 Initially, you must diagnose what the problem is. Is this a case of some legitimate impropriety with the filing and the clerk’s office has the right or obligation to reject it or is it a clerk’s office overstepping its authority? To investigate this, you will need to be able to articulate exactly […]