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Employer’s Secret Computer Search Is Unlawful Retaliation
A federal court of appeals has held that a forensic search of an employee’s work computer could constitute unlawful retaliation for an...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Nov 15, 20222 min read


State Panel Can Strike ‘Uneconomic’ Zoning Conditions
The Massachusetts Supreme Court upheld a decision by the Housing Appeals Committee rejecting conditions the Milton zoning board put on an...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Oct 18, 20221 min read


Black Lives Matter Case Lost
Employees disciplined for wearing face masks bearing the phrase “Black Lives Matter” had their claims dismissed. The appeals court...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Oct 11, 20221 min read


93A Defense Defeated
A former employee sued her former employer for trying to enforce a restrictive covenant preventing her from practicing her profession...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Oct 4, 20221 min read


Town Rules Paved Over For Solar Development
A developer’s request to construct a solar energy system was denied because an access road to the facility through Waltham was a...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Sep 27, 20221 min read


COVID Losses Not Covered By All-Risk Policies
The Massachusetts Supreme Court has ruled that their all-risk property insurance policies did not cover business losses sustained by...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Sep 20, 20221 min read


Workers’ Comp Double Compensation Expanded
An injured employee was awarded double compensation since the employer intentionally failed to take adequate precautions in the face of a...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Sep 6, 20221 min read


FLSA v. State Law
A jury awarded damages to a group of employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Massachusetts Wage Act even though there...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Aug 23, 20221 min read


Manufacturing & Remote Software
The Appellate Tax Board recently ruled that a business qualified as a manufacturer and a corporate excise reduction because it was...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Aug 16, 20221 min read


Limiting Unfair & Deceptive Practices Liability
Where a tenant filed a 93A complaint against the landlord, a limitation of liability provision in a lease did not protect the landlord...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Aug 9, 20221 min read


Investors can recover lost-expectation damages
An investor claimed a company owner lied when he sold him 1% of his company by not disclosing that outstanding options diluted his...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Jul 26, 20221 min read


Cannabis Employee’s Case Presents Novel Issue
A bankruptcy judge has been asked to decide whether an employee of a cannabis business is ineligible for Chapter 13 relief because his...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Jun 28, 20221 min read


Franchisees May Be Employees
The Massachusetts Supreme Court has ruled that the dispute over whether plaintiffs who entered into franchise agreements to operate...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Jun 21, 20221 min read


Deadlock Does Not Mean Dissolution
A 50% shareholder sued to have the corporation dissolved because of irreconcilable differences with the other 50% owner. The court...

Paul Peter Nicolai
May 31, 20221 min read


Contract Liquidated Damages Dumped
A plaintiff sued to enforce a contract that said that if the other side did business with any of its customers in five years, the...

Paul Peter Nicolai
May 24, 20221 min read


Triple Damages For Delayed Wage Payments Required
An employer waited three weeks before paying a terminated employee for accrued vacation time. The lower court found that since the...

Paul Peter Nicolai
May 10, 20221 min read


Terminating Agreement Snuffed Breach of Contract Claim
Delaware courts have decided that the plaintiff extinguished its breach of contract claims when it elected to terminate a merger...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Apr 26, 20221 min read


New Data Regulation
The regulation of data collection and its use marches on. Recent examples include: Illinois Illinois has a new law that took effect on...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Apr 12, 20222 min read


MA SUPREME COURT SAYS FIRING OVER PERSONNEL FILE REBUTTAL IS UNLAWFUL
An at-will employee fired when he filed a rebuttal letter for inclusion in his personnel file after being placed on a performance...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Mar 8, 20221 min read


SECURITIES CLASS ACTION REVIVED
Carbonite launched a data backup product in October 2018. It withdrew the product from the market in July 2019 after it could not remedy...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Mar 1, 20221 min read
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