Massachusetts

  • April 01, 2024

    Mass. Top Court At A Loss Over 7-Eleven Wage Case

    The top court in Massachusetts on Monday appeared stumped by whether owners of 7-Eleven franchisees should be classified as employees under state law, with one justice calling the issue "almost incomprehensible."

  • April 01, 2024

    One Set Of Amazon Buyers Can't Cancel Later Antitrust Case

    Antitrust lawsuits against Amazon.com in New York and Washington federal court will remain separate after a New York federal judge refused Friday to let online shoppers in the earlier-filed Washington case intervene in — and junk — the other proposed class action filed two years later.

  • April 01, 2024

    Mass. Justices Puzzle Over Standard For Zoning Appeal Bond

    Massachusetts' highest court on Monday grappled with whether developers in Boston must show that project opponents are acting in bad faith in order to obtain an appeal bond, as they now must do elsewhere in the state since a 2022 holding in a suburban affordable housing challenge.

  • April 01, 2024

    GE Vernova Spinoff Approved, Valued At $35.7B

    General Electric Co. said its board has approved the previously announced spinoff of its electric power business GE Vernova, setting the new company up to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on April 2.

  • April 01, 2024

    High Court Won't Hear Mass. Residents' Tribal Land Dispute

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a petition by a group of Massachusetts residents seeking to reverse a ruling that allowed the Department of the Interior to take 321 acres into trust for the development of a billion-dollar tribal hotel and casino.

  • March 29, 2024

    Petition Watch: Off-Label Ads, Retiree Discrimination & PPE

    A Utah attorney has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether allegedly retaliatory IRS summonses can be quashed, and two former pharmaceutical executives are challenging the constitutionality of their convictions for marketing the off-label use of a drug. Here, Law360 looks at recently filed petitions that you might've missed.

  • March 29, 2024

    Winston & Strawn Looks To Settle Brief-Copying IP Suit

    A Winston & Strawn LLP attorney on Friday told a Manhattan federal judge that the firm is angling to settle a copyright infringement suit that accuses its attorneys of copying a motion-to-dismiss filing by a boutique intellectual property firm "nearly verbatim," saying it isn't worth the cost to all involved.

  • March 29, 2024

    Mass. Tax Board Won't Lower Value Of Boston House

    A Boston home was correctly assessed, the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board said in a decision published Friday, finding that an analysis of nearby homes failed to show it was overvalued.

  • March 29, 2024

    THL's $2.5B Deal To Buy Agiliti Sparks Chancery Suit

    A shareholder of Agiliti, a medical equipment and services provider on the cusp of being acquired and taken private by Thomas H. Lee Partners LP, has sued the healthcare company in Delaware's Court of Chancery, seeking more information about the controlling private equity stockholder's $2.5 billion buyout bid.

  • March 29, 2024

    Convicted Energy Grant Fraudster Loses 1st Circ. Appeal

    The First Circuit rejected the appeal of a Massachusetts man who was convicted of submitting fraudulent applications for federal grant money under the guise of needing it for energy projects, ruling that the verdict was backed by strong evidence.

  • March 29, 2024

    DraftKings Rips Former Exec's 'Lies' In Ongoing Fanatics Spat

    Former DraftKings executive Michael Hermalyn lied in his opposition last week to its preliminary injunction request, just as he had during his departure to rival Fanatics and throughout a trade secrets and breach of contract suit against him, the company has told a Massachusetts federal court in defending its injunction request.

  • March 29, 2024

    Lawmakers Call For Robinson-Patman Act Revival

    A group of lawmakers is urging the Federal Trade Commission to reinvigorate enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act, a Roosevelt-era wholesale pricing statute that fell out of use in the 1970s, to help small businesses and stem the power of dominant grocery chains.

  • March 29, 2024

    Biotech Co. Inflated Gene Therapy Prospects, Investors Claim

    Massachusetts-based biotechnology company Bluebird Bio Inc. misled investors by understating the safety concerns of a gene therapy for sickle cell, causing damages when stock prices dropped, according to a proposed class action suit filed Thursday in Massachusetts district court.

  • March 29, 2024

    Tenant Screener To Pay $2.2M Over Race Bias Claims

    A tenant screening company has reached a settlement in Massachusetts federal court to end claims brought by a class of housing applicants who alleged its practices disproportionately exclude Black and Hispanic renters.

  • March 29, 2024

    Off The Bench: Ohtani Woes, Va. Ends Arena Plan, Pac-12 Deal

    In this week’s Off The Bench, MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani tries to untangle himself from a gambling scandal, Virginia’s rejection sends two D.C. pro franchises back home, and the Pac-12 pays up to two schools that were left behind. If you were sidelined this week, Law360 will catch you up with the sports and betting stories that had our readers talking.

  • March 28, 2024

    Red Roof Inns Must Face Ohio Sex Trafficking Suits

    Red Roof Inns Inc. can't escape nine lawsuits over its purported role in sex trafficking, an Ohio federal judge ruled Thursday, saying the anonymous victims met pleading standards to allege the hotel chain knowingly made money through their victimization.

  • March 28, 2024

    Pfizer Wants Moderna Vax IP Case Paused For PTAB Review

    Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE have asked a Massachusetts federal court to put on hold a COVID-19 vaccine patent case brought by rival biotechnology giant Moderna Inc. while they await a decision from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board on the validity of two of the three patents at issue.

  • March 28, 2024

    Meta Says Speech Immunity Dooms Instagram Addiction Case

    Meta on Thursday asked a Massachusetts judge to toss a lawsuit alleging it has intentionally misled users about Instagram features purportedly designed to addict children and teens, saying it is shielded both by federal law and the First Amendment.

  • March 28, 2024

    MLS, Trade Group Say DOJ Deal Fix Itself Anti-Competitive

    The U.S. Department of Justice drew fire Wednesday for pushing what a real estate trade group argued would itself be an anti-competitive rule, as the DOJ and other outside groups vie to influence a proposed $3 million settlement over house broker commissions in Massachusetts federal court.

  • March 28, 2024

    Implant Maker's Bribe Case Ripe For Trimming, Judge Says

    A money laundering charge levied against implant manufacturer SpineFrontier Inc. and its executives may be dropped from the broader bribery and kickback prosecution as a Boston federal judge Thursday struggled to square up how the company could have allegedly concealed the unlawful transfers to surgeons while also disclosing them publicly.

  • March 28, 2024

    Mass. Justices Say 2019 Sunday-Wage Ruling Is Retroactive

    Massachusetts' highest court on Thursday affirmed a finding that a furniture retailer violated the state's wage laws by paying salespeople overtime and a Sunday premium out of their own earned commissions, keeping intact a nearly $10 million damages award.

  • March 28, 2024

    The Home Depot Buying PE-Backed SRS For $18.25B

    The Home Depot said Thursday it has agreed to acquire SRS Distribution Inc., a private equity-backed distributor of roofing and building supplies, for $18.25 billion, inclusive of debt. 

  • March 27, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Says Faulty Jury Directions Warrant New IP Trial

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday granted Inline Plastics Corp. another chance to convince a Massachusetts federal jury that its tamper-resistant plastic containers were too successful for the underlying patents to be invalidated as obvious.

  • March 27, 2024

    Boston Strikes Novel Deal To Contract For Offshore Wind

    Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Wednesday announced a novel deal between the city and energy company Avangrid Inc. to purchase up to 15 megawatts of wind-generated electricity from the company, contingent on Avangrid winning a multistate bidding process for new offshore development.

  • March 27, 2024

    New England Patriots Defeat Stadium Wi-Fi Patent Case

    A patent-holding entity behind nearly a dozen infringement suits focused on Wi-Fi solutions for sports stadiums suffered its latest defeat Wednesday as a Boston federal judge dismissed its case against the New England Patriots and found the purported invention unpatentable.

Expert Analysis

  • Divergent Decisions Highlight Uncertainty Of IPR Estoppel

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    Two federal court decisions last month reached opposite conclusions regarding when defendants can rely on prior art to avoid discretionary denial of inter partes review challenges, creating confusion around the viability of Sotera stipulations, say Harper Batts and Li Guo at Sheppard Mullin.

  • In Arbitration, Consider The Influence Of State Laws

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    A California appellate court's recent refusal, based in state law, to compel arbitration in Barraza v. Tesla illustrates the importance of understanding substantive and procedural differences between state arbitration law and the Federal Arbitration Act — and when those distinctions can alter case outcomes, says Richard Mason at MasonADR.

  • Ghosting In BigLaw: Why Better Feedback Habits Are Needed

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    Not giving assignments or constructive criticism to junior associates can significantly affect their performance and hours, potentially leading them to leave the firm, but partners can prevent this by asking the right questions and creating a culture of feedback, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.

  • Rebuttal

    Law Needs A Balance Between Humanism And Formalism

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    A recent Law360 guest article rightly questions the pretextual pseudo-originalism that permits ideology to masquerade as judicial philosophy, but the cure would kill the patient because directness, simplicity and humanness are achievable without renouncing form or sacrificing stare decisis, says Vanessa Kubota at the Arizona Court of Appeals.

  • Short Message Data Challenges In E-Discovery

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    As short message platforms increasingly dominate work environments, lawyers face multiple programs, different communication styles and emoji in e-discovery, so they must consider new strategies to adapt their processes, says Cristin Traylor at Relativity.

  • Opinion

    Thomas Report Is Final Straw — High Court Needs Ethics Code

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    As a recent report on Justice Clarence Thomas' ongoing conflicts of interest makes evident, Supreme Court justices should be subject to an enforceable and binding code of ethics — like all other federal judges — to maintain the credibility of the institution, says Erica Salmon Byrne at Ethisphere.

  • Joint Representation Ethics Lessons From Ga. Electors Case

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    The Fulton County district attorney's recent motion to disqualify an attorney from representing her elector clients, claiming a nonconsentable conflict of interest, raises key questions about representing multiple clients related to the same conduct and highlights potential pitfalls, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Grace Wynn at HWG.

  • Lawyer Discernment Is Critical In The World Of AI

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    In light of growing practical concerns about risks and challenges posed by artificial intelligence, lawyers' experience with the skill of discernment will position them to help address new ethical and moral dilemmas and ensure that AI is developed and deployed in a way that benefits society as a whole, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For Lawyers To Stand Up For Climate Justice

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    The anniversary this week of the Deepwater Horizon disaster offers an opportunity for attorneys to embrace the practice of just transition lawyering — leveraging our skills to support communities on the front lines of climate change and environmental catastrophe as they pursue rebuilding and transformation, says Amy Laura Cahn at Taproot Earth.

  • Don't Forget Alumni Engagement When Merging Law Firms

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    Neglecting law firm alumni programs after a merger can sever the deep connections attorneys have with their former firms, but by combining good data management and creating new opportunities to reconnect, firms can make every member in their expanded network of colleagues feel valued, say Clare Roath and Erin Warner at Troutman Pepper.

  • Without Stronger Due Diligence, Attys Risk AML Regulation

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    Amid increasing pressure to mitigate money laundering and terrorism financing risks in gatekeeper professions, the legal industry will need to clarify and strengthen existing client due diligence measures — or risk the federal regulation attorneys have long sought to avoid, says Jeremy Glicksman at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

  • Every Lawyer Can Act To Prevent Peer Suicide

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    Members of the legal industry can help prevent suicide among their colleagues, and better protect their own mental health, by learning the predictors and symptoms of depression among attorneys and knowing when and how to get practical aid to peers in crisis, says Joan Bibelhausen at Minnesota Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers.

  • Building On Successful Judicial Assignment Reform In Texas

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    Prompt action by the Judicial Conference could curtail judge shopping and improve the efficiency and procedural fairness of the federal courts by implementing random districtwide assignment of cases, which has recently proven successful in Texas patent litigation, says Dabney Carr at Troutman Pepper.

  • Do Videoconferences Establish Jurisdiction With Defendants?

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    What it means to have minimum contacts in a foreign jurisdiction is changing as people become more accustomed to meeting via video, and defendants’ participation in videoconferencing may be used as a sword or a shield in courts’ personal jurisdiction analysis, says Patrick Hickey at Moye White.

  • Opinion

    Humanism Should Replace Formalism In The Courts

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    The worrying tendency for judges to say "it's just the law talking, not me" in American decision writing has coincided with an historic decline in respect for the courts, but this trend can be reversed if courts develop understandable legal standards and justify them in human terms, says Connecticut Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher.

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