Eric T. Berkman

The State Labor Relations Board properly dismissed, in a tie vote, an unfair labor practice complaint brought by a public sector union, a Superior Court judge has found. The RIDE Legal Counsel/Hearing Officer Professional Union filed an unfair labor practices — or ULP — charge with the board, asserting that the state Department of Education

A bankruptcy trustee could not reopen three Chapter 13 cases and convert them to Chapter 7 in order to administer undisclosed assets for the benefit of creditors years after each debtor had completed their plan and received a discharge, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge has ruled in a case of first impression. In each of

The statute of limitations barred a tech company’s legal malpractice suit against a law firm that handled patent applications related to a product the plaintiff was jointly developing with another company, a U.S. District Court judge has determined.

The Appeals Court has ruled that a technology company could not unilaterally terminate agreements to pay commissions for an indefinite duration on revenue it received from customers provided by an independent sales consultant.

A Superior Court judge has found that beneficiaries litigating a breach of fiduciary duty action over the administration of family trusts were entitled to discovery of communications between trustees and trust counsel. The plaintiffs were beneficiaries of a series of trusts formed by their father, Michael P. Metcalf, and their grandfather, George P. Metcalf. The

A divorcing couple’s home should be considered a marital asset even though the husband purchased it prior to their marriage, a Family Court judge has held. During the marriage of James and Samantha Florio, the home was encumbered by two home equity lines of credit that the husband had taken out. The husband, who was

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the defendant in a securities fraud case should have been permitted to impeach the credibility of the plaintiff by cross-examining him about conduct that led a state medical board to determine that he misrepresented his credentials. Plaintiff Boris Bergus sued defendant Agustin Florian, a fellow physician and onetime colleague, under the Massachusetts Uniform Securities Act, alleging that Florian made material omissions and misrepresentations in inducing him to invest $375,000 in a Peruvian business endeavor run by Florian’s brother-in-law. Competing testimony of Bergus, Florian and Florian’s brother-in-law, Edgardo Baca, constituted nearly […]

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge has held that an insurance company could not invade a Chapter 13 debtor’s homestead to recoup a $290,000 overpayment that the debtor then spent on home repairs.

An applicant for a zoning variance was entitled to attorneys’ fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act after it successfully appealed the North Smithfield Zoning Board of Review’s denial of its application, a Superior Court judge has found. The applicant, Tech Realty, which planned to construct a light industrial building on the property in

A Superior Court judge has found that a memorandum of understanding signed by parties at the close of mediation in a medical malpractice case did not result in an enforceable settlement. Plaintiff Linda Phelan signed a handwritten MOU under which she agreed to accept $150,000 from her former physician, Marina Kuperman-Beade, to settle the case.