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Updates

Mar 30
1 min

Pandemic Closing does not Breach Lease

A commercial landlord sued a tenant that stopped operating a café and paying rent following a statewide order disallowing on-premises...

Paul Peter Nicolai

Mar 16
1 min

Race Case Against Whole Foods Dismissed

Whole Foods Market employees claimed it discriminated and retaliated against them when it barred them from wearing Black Lives Matter...

Prompt Payment Act Noncompliance Waives Defenses

Paul Peter Nicolai

Mar 9
1 min

Prompt Payment Act Noncompliance Waives Defenses

A contractor requested seven progress payments on a construction project which were not paid. The construction manager did not follow the...

Protecting Trade Secrets with a Remote Workforce

Paul Peter Nicolai

Feb 16
2 min

Protecting Trade Secrets with a Remote Workforce

To keep employees and communities safe, many businesses have given remote access to systems and data without ensuring new technologies...

Paul Peter Nicolai

Feb 2
1 min

Cannabis Contract Enforcement

When a contract involves cannabis, federal courts cannot enforce performance or order remedies, one court has ruled. A cannabis company...

Paul Peter Nicolai

Jan 26
1 min

State Privacy Laws Have Teeth

In 2008, Illinois passed the Biometric Information Privacy Act to grant consumers privacy protections for collected biometric...

Paul Peter Nicolai

Jan 12
1 min

Uber Arbitration Agreement Tossed

The Massachusetts Supreme Court has ruled that Uber's customer terms and conditions requiring them to arbitrate claims against Uber are...

Paul Peter Nicolai

Nov 10, 2020
1 min

Losing Your Right of First Refusal

Rejecting any part of the terms offered to fulfill a right-of-first-refusal can terminate the entire right.

Trade Secret Misappropriation Judgment Reversed

Paul Peter Nicolai

Nov 3, 2020
1 min

Trade Secret Misappropriation Judgment Reversed

Employers cannot restrict a former employee’s ability to compete just because a contract says everything is confidential.

Paul Peter Nicolai

Oct 20, 2020
2 min

Extending When You Can Sue

Discovering and understanding fraud is complicated and time consuming. This court used two doctrines to extend the time for plaintiff to sue

Supreme Court Limits SEC Disgorgement Power

Paul Peter Nicolai

Sep 29, 2020
1 min

Supreme Court Limits SEC Disgorgement Power

The Supreme Court has ruled that the SEC can seek disgorgement as an equitable remedy in cases under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934....

Paul Peter Nicolai

Sep 22, 2020
1 min

Death Terminates Brokerage Agreement

The owner of three residential properties died after signing an exclusive right-to-sell agreement with a real estate agency. Her estate...

Public Data Scraping Likely Does Not Violate CFAA

Paul Peter Nicolai

Sep 1, 2020
2 min

Public Data Scraping Likely Does Not Violate CFAA

The Computer Fraud And Abuse Act (CFAA) prohibits accessing a computer without authorization. It is violated when a person circumvents a...

Not Every Job Change Terminates Non Competes

Paul Peter Nicolai

Aug 25, 2020
1 min

Not Every Job Change Terminates Non Competes

A 1968 decision has been consistently argued to terminate old noncompete agreements. A court has ruled that not every job change will cause

Liability for Work from Home and Personal Email Policies

Paul Peter Nicolai

Aug 11, 2020
1 min

Liability for Work from Home and Personal Email Policies

Allowing employees to work from home and use their personal emails for business, the firm created a cyber-security risk.

Paul Peter Nicolai

Aug 4, 2020
1 min

Sale Taxable Without A Transfer

The Massachusetts Supreme Court announced that transfer of title or possession is not required to find that a taxable event occurred.

Wage Act Claims Against Company Officials Dismissed

Paul Peter Nicolai

Jul 28, 2020
1 min

Wage Act Claims Against Company Officials Dismissed

A Massachusetts federal court judge dismissed Wage Act claims brought against individuals for lack of jurisdiction.

First Amendment Can Apply to Facebook Pages

Paul Peter Nicolai

Jul 10, 2020
2 min

First Amendment Can Apply to Facebook Pages

This decision is one of the first to explicitly hold that Facebook pages can be public forums, laying down an important marker that freedom

Paul Peter Nicolai

Jun 23, 2020
2 min

VOLUNTEER DIRECTORS IMMUNE

The Massachusetts Supreme Court has issued a broad decision immunizing volunteer directors to Massachusetts nonprofits from liability and...

Paul Peter Nicolai

Jun 9, 2020
1 min

Arbitration Notice Succeeds

A Plaintiff sued her employer saying it misclassified her as an independent contractor and failed to pay her minimum wages. The court...

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