Case law

Care and Protection of Gaston

Massachusetts Appeals Court · Jan 16, 2026

The mother has not appealed from that decree. 5 The judge also entered a final judgment on the father's complaint to establish paternity. … The ICPC report also noted Gaston's diagnosis of developmental delays and that he qualified for an IEP but that the father did not believe that Gaston had any developmental delay.

Commonwealth v. Downey

78 Mass. App. Ct. 224 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · Nov 8, 2010

“In claiming that his Sixth Amendment right to a public trial was violated, ‘[t]he burden is clearly on the defendant to demonstrate that the public was excluded from his trial.’ ” Commonwealth v. … The defendant has satisfied his burden of establishing that the courtroom was closed during jury voir dire.

Green v. Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Inc.

79 Mass. App. Ct. 1 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · Mar 3, 2011

Ct. 98, 100 (1983) (“It is well established that a material breach by one party excuses the other party from further performance under the contract”). … Green’s complaint to the human resources department about Walsh’s conduct — a “complaint” about allegedly racially discriminatory conduct by a supervisor — is clearly protected activity. See Clifton v.

Plamondon v. Outcepts Management & Consulting, LLC

81 Mass. App. Ct. 845 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · Jun 11, 2012

No billboard may be erected or maintained unless it conforms to the rules and regulations established under G. L. c. 93, § 29. See 711 Code Mass. Regs. § 3.02(2)(a) (2010). … The judge credited Theresa Plamondon’s testimony that, while the old billboard was not visible from her house, the new billboard is clearly visible from her home and property.

Commonwealth v. Lopera

42 Mass. App. Ct. 133 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · Jan 30, 1997

On appeal, the defendant argues that Gonzalez’s statements did not qualify as declarations against penal interest because the Commonwealth failed to meet its burden of showing that Gonzalez was “unavailable” to be a witness … criminal liability ‘that a reasonable man in his position would not have made the statement unless he believed it to be true’; and [3] the statement, if offered to exculpate the accused, must be corroborated by circumstances clearly

Commonwealth v. Jacobson

19 Mass. App. Ct. 666 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · Apr 22, 1985

All of these circumstances were the subjects of testimony by the two troopers who qualified as experts in the investigation of arson. … The standard for review is the one established in Commonwealth v. Freeman, 352 Mass. at 564 .

Loring Towers Associates v. Furtick

85 Mass. App. Ct. 142 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · Mar 27, 2014

Furtick’s sole source of income is his Social Security disability insurance benefits, an amount clearly insufficient to cover market-rate rent. … Furtick suffers from a suppressed immune system (stemming from a kidney transplant), schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, arthritis, and asthma.

SARA CLINE & Others v. PLANNING BOARD OF FRAMINGHAM & Others

Massachusetts Appeals Court · Oct 16, 2025

Ct. 376, 381 (2006) ("direct abutter" and "abutter to an abutter within 300 feet of the subject property" presumptively qualify as "persons aggrieved"). … Here, a "detailed record" of the board's proceedings "clearly" set forth "the reason for its decision" and evinced a careful examination of the compatibility of the project with the requirements of the zoning bylaws as well

Commonwealth v. Howard

81 Mass. App. Ct. 757 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · May 21, 2012

On October 7, 2003, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss the SDP proceedings, arguing that the Commonwealth was late in its filing of the qualified examiners’ reports and in petitioning for trial. … On appeal, five of the original guilty pleas were set aside because of deficiencies in the Commonwealth’s recitation of the evidence and admissions by the defendant that fell short of establishing indecent assault and battery

Commonwealth v. Almeida

83 Mass. App. Ct. 451 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · Mar 27, 2013

. *453 The first element is not in dispute here, as the defendant’s prior sexual offenses are well established. … If the judge finds that the Commonwealth has established probable cause to believe the person is an SDP, he is committed to the treatment center for a strictly limited time during which he is examined by two qualified examiners

Spillane v. Adams

76 Mass. App. Ct. 378 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · Mar 2, 2010

We accept a judge’s findings of fact unless they are “clearly erroneous.” Mass.R.Civ.P. 52(a), as amended, 423 Mass. 1402 (1996). … The Spillanes highlight the qualified nature of the title examiner’s report and, as with case no. 7143, point to the case’s lack of conclusive legal application to the case at bar.

Minkina v. Frankl

86 Mass. App. Ct. 282 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · Sep 15, 2014

L. c. 151B is enforceable only if such an agreement is stated in clear and unmistakable terms," and that "parties seeking to provide for arbitration of statutory discrimination claims must, at a minimum, state clearly … Brooks, 396 Mass. 643, 646 (1986) ("An attorney who has not held himself out as a specialist owes his client a duty to exercise the degree of care and skill of the average qualified practitioner").

Commonwealth v. Zavala

52 Mass. App. Ct. 770 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · Oct 10, 2001

Here, the evidence was clearly insufficient as matter of law as to the identity of the defendant being the person previously arrested for narcotic offenses. … In any event, Diaz was a qualified expert and the defendant does not argue otherwise.

Fraco Products, Ltd. v. Bostonian Masonry Corp.

84 Mass. App. Ct. 296 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · Sep 26, 2013

injuries could be attributed both to the manufacturer of a product used by the plaintiff’s employer in the construction process and to the negligence of the employer in the use of the product — for which the employer was immune … Even if Fraco were to establish that its only liability related to the installation of the equipment, and that its employees were “borrowed servants” of Bostonian when participating in the installation of Machine No. 10,

Pemberton v. Pemberton

9 Mass. App. Ct. 9 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · Jan 3, 1980

The award, of course, is not to be changed unless an abuse of discretion on the judge’s part is evident from a demonstration that the amount set is clearly incommensurate with an objective evaluation of the services performed … The immunization of the trust assets from the reach of creditors of the beneficiary is complete.” Powell, Freedom of Alienation — For Whom?

Bradford & Bigelow, Inc. v. Commonwealth

24 Mass. App. Ct. 349 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · Jun 22, 1987

This point was not very clearly argued in the defendant’s briefs but their motions for a new trial were based in part on the ground that damages were excessive. 6. … Under c. 5, § 1, contracts for State printing “shall be given to such establishments only as pay the prevailing rate of wages, based on wage rates and working hours that have been established by collective bargaining agreement

Reilly v. Local 589, Amalgamated Transit Union

31 Mass. App. Ct. 633 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · Dec 9, 1991

On September 7, 1972, by letter, the MBTA requested that Reilly report to the MBTA’s doctor for a physical examination to determine if he was qualified “to return to work as a [cjollector.” … Myers, supra at 138 (“A finding concerning loches, based upon oral evidence, however, will not be disturbed unless clearly erroneous”). Reilly next argues apportionment is barred by the MBTA’s “unclean hands.”

GTE Products Corp. v. Broadway Electrical Supply Co.

42 Mass. App. Ct. 293 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · Mar 6, 1997

the negotiations as the would-be buyer and end user of most of the lightbulbs the plaintiff was to supply — was not a valid corporate entity or business but was purely a creation of the defendants to be used by them to qualify … As suggested in that case, we have examined the judge’s memorandum with closer than usual scrutiny but can find therein no clearly erroneous findings of fact or flawed rulings of law.

Shriver Nursing Services, Inc. v. Commissioner of the Division of Unemployment Assistance

82 Mass. App. Ct. 367 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · Aug 27, 2012

The review examiner determined that Shriver had failed to establish “deliberate misconduct which would allow it to terminate [Milinazzo’s] employment and disqualify her from benefits.” … That rationale would qualify for benefits even habitual sleepers and individuals derelict in the performance of duties important to the safety of others.

Petrucci v. Board of Appeals

45 Mass. App. Ct. 818 · Massachusetts Appeals Court · Nov 30, 1998

In 1995, he proposed to establish a child care facility in a barn located on his property. … The commissioner initially denied Petrucci’s application on his view that the proposed use “would result in the establishment of two principal] uses” on the property and was “not clearly accessory or incidental to a residential