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All Posted Firm News
We post firm updates, legal insights, and case studies.
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The Appeals Court Applies Section 10(i) Narrowly Under the Tort Claims Act
In a case of first impression, the Appeals Court examined the breadth of a public employer’s immunity under Section 10(i) of the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act [MTCA] for wrongful release of a detainee. In McCarthy v. City of Waltham, the plaintiffs decedent, James McCarthy, was placed under protective custody by City police after McCarthys father called to report that he was distraught, under the influence and possibly suicidal.
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Toxic Torts Alert: Liability for Products Manufactured and Sold by Others (The Bare Metal Defense)
In the last few years, several courts have addressed whether liability should be imposed on equipment manufacturers for products manufactured and sold by third parties, which were used with the defendants equipment. Most of the cases consider the question in terms of whether there is a duty to warn, but a few courts have utilized a causation analysis.
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Toxic Torts Alert: Each and Every Exposure Theory
Since last Spring, a number of courts have addressed the validity of the each and every exposure theory (also known as the any exposure, special exposures, cumulative exposures, single fiber or one fiber theory) as a basis for meeting a plaintiffs causation burden in asbestos exposure cases. Those rulings have been disparate:
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Massachusetts Appeals Court Denies Developers Claims that Towns Decisions Amounted to a Regulatory Taking
John J. Cloherty successfully represented the Town of Norfolk and its Conservation Commission in claims involving a parcel of land that the owners were trying to develop. The developers claimed delays and unfair and capricious application of the wetlands regulations amounted to an unconstitutional taking of the property. After a Superior Court ruled in favor of the Town on summary judgement, the Appeal Court affirmed the decision ruling against the developers.
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Supreme Judicial Court Holds Search of School Intruder Unconstitutional: Commonwealth v. Villagran, 477 Mass. 711 (2017)
In a case that should alarm school officials, school staff, parents and students, the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC), on August 29, 2017, held that a Milton police officer’s search of a suspicious individual on Milton High School grounds
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Toxic Torts Alert: Duty to "Take Home" Exposure Plaintiffs
A number of courts have recently addressed the issue of whether a duty is owed to a plaintiff secondarily exposed to a toxic substance from the clothes or belongings of an individual who worked directly with that substance.