BLS Blog

Judge Salinger granted summary judgment in favor of a defendant that violated Massachusetts debt collection law where a plaintiff failed to show an injury “separate” and “distinct” from the regulatory violation.

America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) commenced suit against Christopher Kimball, who used to work for ATK. The lawsuit arises from Kimball’s development of a competing business. ATK also sued William Thorndike, Jr. According to ATK, Thorndike misappropriated confidential information and aided and abetted Kimball’s breach of fiduciary duty.

Judge Salinger denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Massachusetts Attorney General against Equifax. The lawsuit stems from the massive Equifax data breach of 2017.

From footnote two of Massachusetts v. Equifax:

On June 11, the Boston Bar Association hosted its annual “Business Litigation Session Year in Review.” The BLS judges, including incoming Judge Brian Davis (who is taking over for Judge Leibensperger in BLS1), shared tips and other thoughts for attorneys practicing in the BLS to consider.

Key Takeaway: In Roche Brothers Supermarkets v. Continental Casualty Company, Judge Kaplan ruled that monies expended by an insured to prevent property damage were not recoverable under a commercial property insurance policy. The policy insured against the risk of loss of, or damage to, property—not the cost of eliminating the risk of loss of, or damage to, property.

Judge Sanders issued an interesting summary-judgment decision in Bassett v. Triton Technologies. She teed up the issue this way:

While litigants often invoke Rule 45 to discover documents from third parties during the course of litigation, courts have rarely ordered payment of the fees incurred by the third party to comply with the subpoena. Judge Leibensperger, however, recently ordered one of the parties in Medical Source, Inc. et al. v. Perkinelmer Health Sciences, Inc. who had issued a subpoena in the case to do just that.

In July 2018, Judge Brian Davis will replace Judge Edward Leibensperger as the judge for the July-December rotation period of BLS1. Governor Deval Patrick appointed Judge Davis to the Superior Court in 2013. Before his appointment, Judge Davis spent his legal career in private practice where he focused on complex commercial disputes, torts, product-liability defense, fraud and insurance, and corporate governance. More information on Judge Davis’s background can be found here and at Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

In Fratea, Judge Sanders held that an employee separation agreement that specifically referenced the waiver of Massachusetts Wage Act claims was enforceable. Judge Sanders applied the legal standard established by the SJC in Crocker v. Townsend Gulf Oil Co., Inc. In Crocker, the SJC held that a termination agreement that includes a general release will be enforceable as to Wage Act claims only if such an agreement is stated in clear and unmistakable terms: “[T]he release must be plainly worded and understandable to the average individual and must specifically refer to the rights and claims under the Wage Act that the employee is waiving.” The general release in Crocker failed because it did not reference the Wage Act.