Masaschusetts Law Notes

Discussion of Massachusetts case law and legal issues of interest to business clients.

Author: Stephen A. Evans is a lawyer in Newton, Mass., a Boston suburb.

Blawg Related Categories: Corporate Law • Trials & Litigation • States • Massachusetts • Business Law • Legal Information

Recent Posts from Masaschusetts Law Notes

Tortious interference with advantageous customer relations
The Massachusetts Court of Appeals recently reversed a jury finding of tortious interference with advantageous customer relations on the grounds that it was not supported by the evidence. A distributor (Brewster) of wallpaper products brought…
What is the cost to form a Massachusetts corporation?
I often get asked by people, how much does it cost to incorporate? Here is a quick overview of the various filing fees that you can expect to pay to get your business up and…
Parties to an illegal contract should not expect much help from the courts
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently considered a case involving the attempt by one party to recover amounts paid under a contract that was later determined to be illegal. The facts of the case involved…
Noncompete Agreements: frequently asked questions
The Sunday New York Times business section has a good roundup of the various issues that arise in signing non-compete agreements. In Massachusetts it is common, particularly among high tech companies, to require all employees…
Panera: Burrito = Sandwich; Judge: No
The AP reported on a case in Massachusetts in which the Panera Bread Company attempted to enforce a provision in its shopping mall lease that bans rival sandwich shops to stop a mexcican fast food…
Management Rights Agreement as alternative to board representation
Minority investors in a closely held business often find that they have little control over the direction of the company, with most corporate action often requiring only a majority vote at the shareholder or board…
Arbitration Panel: MassMutal CEO did not breach of fiduciary duty; questions board conduct
A three-person arbitration panel ruled against Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance finding that the company’s former CEO, Robert O’Connell , did not breach his fiduciary duty as was alleged by the board of directors and could…
MA: Covenant of fair dealing and contractual termination clause
A federal district court in Massachusetts upheld a jury verdict against Computer Associates finding that its compensation policy, which denied payment of sales commission to terminated employees on deals where payment was not received within…
Employee handbooks and personal email
In a case reported by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, a Massachusetts trial court held that, despite warnings in an employee manual that Internet activity would be monitored, an employee’s email communication to his lawyer via a…
$1.35 million jury verdict for failure to accommodate bipolar disorder
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly reports on a case involving an employee who was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder. The employee had worked for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company in a sales role for 37 years (including 11…