Opinion

Lane v. Caterino

  • 6 Mass. App. Ct. 949
  • 383 N.E.2d 89
  • 1978 Mass. App. LEXIS 802
Court
Massachusetts Appeals Court
Filed
Dec 1, 1978
Status
Published
Author
Brown
On the bench
Brown
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 10.8%

The opinion

Brown, J.

(dissenting). I am convinced that this case was wrongly decided below. In these circumstances the services received by the defendants should not have been a gift. It seems clear to me that the view of this case taken by the parties as well as the trial judge placed it in a posture whereby the correct legal principles were not applied. In order to avoid a manifest injustice and unjust enrichment the case should be remanded to the Superior Court Department so that it can be retried on the proper principles of agency law (see and compare Restatement [Second] of Agency §§ 292, 293 [1958]) and under the teaching recently set out by the Supreme Judicial Court in Harness Tracks Security, Inc. v. Bay State Raceway, Inc., 374 Mass. 362 (1978). Moreover, leave should be given to amend the complaint to reflect the proper parties plaintiff. See, e.g., Foster v. Graham, 166 Mass. 202, 204 (1896); Cotter v. McGuire, 269 Mass. 468, 471 (1929). See also Restatement (Second) of Agency § 372, Comment b.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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