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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


The Growing World of Automatic Renewal Laws
With the proliferation of automatic renewal clauses in consumer contracts, new laws, generally called automatic renewal laws (ARL)...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Sep 13, 20225 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


Insurance Coverage Limited By DBA Designation
A motel operator who agreed to purchase the Masonic Temple in Quincy and convert it into a boutique hotel was not entitled to insurance...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Aug 30, 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


What Privilege Rules Apply In International Arbitration?
International arbitration means different parties from different jurisdictions. Each jurisdiction may have different rules for the legal...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Aug 2, 20223 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


The Corporate Transparency Act
Congress has passed the Corporate Transparency Act of 2020 (“CTA”). Its core is a set of reporting requirements imposed on just about...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Jul 19, 20229 min read


Forced Arbitration of Workplace Sexual Harassment and Assault Claims Now Illegal
Congress passed, and the President has signed into law a transformative bill that allows employees to avoid enforcement of pre-dispute...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Jul 12, 20222 min read


Food Litigation Upswing
Most food and beverage claims are concentrated on food labeling, including whether identified ingredients or flavors are artificial....

Paul Peter Nicolai
Jul 5, 20223 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


Only Human-Made Works are Copyrightable in the U.S.
The U.S. Copyright Office Review Board refused copyright protection of a two-dimensional artwork created by artificial intelligence,...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Jun 14, 20221 min read


Utah Enacts Nation’s Fourth Comprehensive Consumer Data Privacy Law
Utah has enacted the Utah Consumer Privacy Act (“UCPA”) which takes effect on December 31, 2023. This makes Utah the fourth state to...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Jun 7, 20222 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
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