MGL Ch. 258E requires three or more acts of willful and malicious conduct aimed at a specific person. There has to be an intent to cause fear, intimidation, abuse or damage to property. Actions that are merely abusive in the disruptive sense are not enough. FWT v. FT, 93 Mass. App. Ct. 376 (2018). "Boorish [...]
If you have a 209A restraining order against you and you then, by mistake, send that person an electronic message or you run into that person in a store, be ready for that person to call the police, even though the contact was not intended. This statute is not a "strict liability" statute ; in [...]
If you intend to sue a town, city or the State, you should familiarize yourself with the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act MGL Ch. 258. First of all, your statute of limitations is short, two years. Then , before you can file suit, you must give notice to the town, city or State of the nature [...]
If the proof against you in an oui case is substantial and you want to plead out your case, below is a hypothetical disposition; Continue Without a Finding for one year (The DA may ask the Judge for a Guilty Finding); 45 day loss of license 24D program (16-18 weeks of classroom lectures) separate cost [...]
If you are driving your friends around in your car, and one of your buddies has drugs in his/her pocket/purse, you are presumed to be in "constructive possession" of those drugs. Not fair, right? Well, the top courts have ruled, tough luck, you as the driver possess everything in the car. The bad news is [...]
There are many statutes and regulations that affect the rights and obligations of both landlords and tenants. Before anyone decides to become a landlord, he/she should sit down and read the following; * MGL Ch. 186 s.1-21 (general) * MGL Ch. 239 s. 1-13 (general) * MGL Ch. 127 L (repair and deduct) * MGL [...]
Massachusett's courts used to distinguish slip and fall on snow and ice cases between natural accumulations and man made efforts to move the snow and ice, with the former not being the fault of the homeowner. Today, the snow and ice cases have been merged into one rule; a property owner now has a general [...]
If you are stopped by the police while driving your vehicle, e.g. for speeding, and the officer smells any alcohol on your breath, he will most likely ask you a few preliminary questions and then ask you to exit your vehicle in order to submit to a series of field sobriety tests (the most common [...]
I've been told by multiple sources that, for example, in the Town of Framingham, around 20% of drivers are either without a license or insurance. Even if the party who struck you has insurance, more often than not they are carrying the minimum insurance required; $20,000 per person, $40,000 per accident. If you suffer a [...]
As a result of the Jared Remy murder in Waltham a few years ago, the Massachusetts Legislature adopted (2014) the bulk of the recommendations of the Attorney General and passed a very strict and comprehensive set of new laws, heightened sentences and a Domestic Violence Registry, for any crime related to domestic violence. So, below [...]