Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Decisions 2021
Date: December 30, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13093
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for simple assault and battery, holding that while Defendant's bench trial, conducted partly via Zoom, did not violate Defendant's constitutional rights, this…
Date: December 29, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13105
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the superior court granting Defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' claims alleging undue influence in this trusts and estates case, holding that Plaintiffs' claims for…
Date: December 22, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13086
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions entered upon his conditional guilty plea to the charges of possession of a firearm without a license and possession of a large capacity feeding device, holding…
Date: December 17, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13117
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the decision of the superior court allowing Defendant's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's wrongful discharge complaint, holding that an employer cannot terminate an at-will employee for…
Date: December 16, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13108
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the superior court judge's directed verdict in favor of DACA Delaware Dissolution Trust (DACA Trust) and Stebbins Duffy, a manufacturer's representative of Daikin Industries' products,…
Date: December 16, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13185
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition filed pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse her…
Date: December 16, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13188
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of a single justice denying Petitioner's petition for extraordinary relief pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 and under the doctrine of present execution, holding that…
Date: December 15, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13187
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the county court denying, without a hearing, Petitioner's petition for relief under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse any…
Date: December 13, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13106
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of the superior court allowing summary judgment in favor of Credico (USA), LLC in this labor dispute, holding that the independent contractor statute, Mass. Gen. Laws ch.…
Date: December 9, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13097
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition for relief pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse…
Date: December 6, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12806
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of felony-murder in the first degree with aggravated rape as the predicate offense, holding that there was no prejudicial error in the proceedings below and that…
Date: November 23, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13061
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of the superior court judge dismissing Plaintiff's civil action against the Appeals Court alleging various claims relating to property situated at 44 Chestnut Street in…
Date: November 18, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13125
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court judge denying Plaintiffs' second request for a preliminary injunction, holding that there was no error. Plaintiffs, a class of inmates in Department…
Date: October 25, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13089
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court concluding that the tortfeasor in this case, a police officer, was not acting within the scope of his employment at the time of the accident, holding…
Date: October 21, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13006
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of the superior court judge denying Defendant's motion for a new trial, holding that the judge did not err because the motion did not raise any error that suggested a…
Date: October 19, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-10590
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for murder in the first degree and unlawful possession of a firearm and the order denying his motion for a new trial, holding that there was no error. After…
Date: October 19, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13053
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court remanded these consolidated actions against two insurance companies to the superior court for further proceedings, holding that inherent diminished value (IDV) damages, if adequately proved,…
Date: October 15, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13092
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions with the exception of two counts, which the Court vacated under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, 13B 1/2, holding that Defendant's convictions stemming from incidents…
Date: October 12, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13073
Justia Opinion Summary: In this interlocutory appeal, the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court judge denying the Commonwealth's motion for summary judgment on Plaintiff's complaint alleging wrongful termination…
Date: October 8, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13082
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court denying Petitioner's petition for relief pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err in denying…
Date: October 7, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12837
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice denying Plaintiff's complaint seeking a broad range of declaratory and injunctive relief, relief in the nature of mandamus, and the exercise of the…
Date: October 5, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-11529
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of murder in the first degree, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, and other offenses, holding that Defendant was not entitled to reversal of…
Date: October 4, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12180
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree on theories of deliberate premeditation, extreme atrocity or cruelty, felony-murder, and other offenses, holding that there was no…
Date: October 1, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13048
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court denying Defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty pleas to indictments charging robbery, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, unlawful…
Date: September 28, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13101
Date: September 28, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13101
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the medical parole scheme set forth in the Medical Parole Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 127, 119A, authorizing the Commissioner of Correction to grant medical parole to terminally ill or…
Date: September 28, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13116
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the responses of the named sheriff's offices in this complaint and their respective houses of correction to the COVID-19 pandemic did not violate Federal and State constitutional…
Date: September 27, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12310
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment against Defendant convicting her of the murder the first degree for the murder of her spouse, holding that the admission of certain expert testimony was prejudicial…
Date: September 16, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13136
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of the trial court denying Defendant's motion for reduction of the verdict or for a new trial, holding that principles of direct estoppel precluded another review in this…
Date: September 15, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13070
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of the trial court entering judgment upon the jury's verdict in this wrongful death case and awarding Plaintiff $11 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in…
Date: September 10, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12989
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated and set aside the order of the superior court judge denying Defendant's motion to suppress the fruits of a search of Defendant's home, holding that the warrantless investigatory review…
Date: September 8, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13081
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the Commissioner of Correction's exercise of the "commissioner's certification" provision in Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 18(a) to retain K.J. at Bridgewater State Hospital violated article 30…
Date: September 3, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13051
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the six-year statute of limitations for contract actions governed this case and that the efforts of Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Office of Medicaid (MassHealth) to…
Date: September 3, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13054
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of the district court denying Defendant's motion to dismiss this personal injury action on statute of limitations grounds, holding that there was no error. Plaintiff…
Date: August 31, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13058
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the order of the superior court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants and dismissing a complaint brought by the Conservation Commission of Norton, holding that the Wetlands…
Date: August 30, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12733
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated Defendant's conviction of armed assault with intent to rob as duplicative of his felony murder conviction and otherwise affirmed Defendant's convictions, holding that the evidence…
Date: August 30, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13029
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the Land Court determining that, pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 94G, 3(a)(1), the town of Mansfield may not prevent CommCan, Inc. from converting to a retail marijuana…
Date: August 30, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13069
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that a previously enacted municipal bylaw that permits only nonprofit entities to operate medical marijuana dispensaries is preempted by a statutory provision specifically eliminating that…
Date: August 26, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13049
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court allowing Defendants' motion for judgment on the pleadings on the ground that the claims in this case were based on issues that had been litigating…
Date: August 25, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12991
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the order of the trial court dismissing Plaintiff's complaint with respect to all counts in the complaint with the exception of the public policy claim, holding that Plaintiff's…
Date: August 23, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13039
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the term "service charge" is a defined term in the Tips Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, 152A, that the disputed charge at issue in this case was properly characterized as a "service…
Date: August 20, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13072
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court answered three reported questions regarding whether the provision in Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 119, 29C that the court shall determine reasonable efforts not less than annually permits or requires a…
Date: August 16, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-11517 & SJC 11518
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated Defendants' convictions for murder in the first degree on a theory of joint venture, holding that it was an abuse of discretion for the judge not to require the Commonwealth to provide…
Date: August 10, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13041
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the order of the superior court concluding that the Commonwealth's exercise of its statutory right to demand a jury trial violated Petitioner's substantive due process rights and…
Date: August 6, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12753
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation and declined relief pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278, 33E, holding that there was no…
Date: August 6, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13091
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of the single justice of the appeals court denying Defendant's motion to stay his sentence pending appeal of his motion for a new trial, holding that Defendant presented a…
Date: August 5, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12951 & SJC 12952
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the convictions of Josiah Zachery and Donte Henley of murder in the first degree and Zachery's convictions of assault by means of a dangerous weapon and carrying a firearm without a…
Date: August 5, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13068
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court remanded this case for a new hearing held pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 123, 7 and 8, holding that the trial judge erred in allowing an expert witness to testify on direct examination about…
Date: August 3, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13035
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the denial of Defendant's Mass. R. Crim. P. 30(a) motion seeking to vacate his remaining sentences after he was paroled from his life sentence for murder and remanded the matter to the…
Date: August 2, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13030
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the order of the superior court denying Defendant's motion to dismiss the counts of breach of fiduciary duty and conversion, holding that a conservator acting pursuant to judicial…
Date: July 30, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13010
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of the superior court denying this action in the nature of mandamus as well as certiorari review of the decision of the city of Salem to reject Mederi, Inc.'s application…
Date: July 28, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13114
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying the Commonwealth's petition pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 seeking review of, and relief from, the judge's discovery…
Date: July 23, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13059
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court reversing the determination of the Massachusetts Office of Medicaid's board of hearings that Plaintiff's home was a countable asset, making her…
Date: July 20, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12908
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court affirming the decision of the Sex Offender Registry Board classifying Plaintiff as a level three sex offender, holding that the sex offender…
Date: July 20, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13087
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 233, 20, Fourth - which applies to the testimony of a parent of minor child against the other in criminal, delinquency, and youthful offender proceedings where the victim is…
Date: July 16, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13033
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of the superior court requiring Leroy Randolph to submit a saliva sample for DNA testing to establish whether DNA found on a murder weapon belonged to him, holding that there…
Date: July 13, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13050
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for trafficking of persons for sexual servitude and unlawful possession of marijuana, holding that the superior court judge did not err denying Defendant's…
Date: July 8, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12966
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the single justice of the court denying Plaintiff's petition for relief after she was suspended without pay from her position as an assistant clerk-magistrate in the…
Date: July 6, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13026
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court recognizing an Israeli judgment under the Massachusetts Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 235, 23A, thus allowing…
Date: July 6, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13047
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of assault and battery and strangulation, holding that admitting the victim's statements did not violate Defendant's right to confrontation under the Sixth…
Date: July 2, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12489
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree on a theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty, holding that Defendant's allegations of error were unavailing. Specifically, the…
Date: July 2, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13016
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that Defendant did not meet the threshold under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278A, 3 to be entitled to a hearing on his motions for postconviction forensic testing. Defendant was convicted of…
Date: July 2, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13040
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the order of the superior court judge denying Defendant's eighth motion for postconviction forensic testing of certain evidence from his 1999 trial, holding that Defendant satisfied…
Date: July 1, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-11586
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for murder in the first degree but remanded for resentencing in accordance with Diatchenko v. District Attorney for the Suffolk District, 466 Mass. 655 (2013),…
Date: July 1, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13100
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition for relief pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his…
Date: July 1, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13104
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition for relief under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his…
Date: July 1, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13113
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition for relief pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his…
Date: June 28, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-11512
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of murder in the first degree on the theory of felony-murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and attempted armed robbery, holding that there was no…
Date: June 25, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12997
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of the Energy Facilities Siting Board that approved a proposal by Eversource Energy under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 264, 69J to construct a new electrical transmission line…
Date: June 24, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-11930
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of felony murder but vacated Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree and remanded the matter for entry of a verdict of guilty of murder in the…
Date: June 23, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13031 & SJC 13060
Justia Opinion Summary: In this proposed class action suit challenging the rules of blackjack at the Encore Boston Harbor Casino the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of the superior court judge granting the motion to dismiss brought by…
Date: June 18, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12717
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree, on a theory of felony order, with aggravated rape as the predicate felony, holding that there was no prejudicial error in the…
Date: June 16, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12936
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of the superior court allowing Defendant's motion to suppress all of the statements he made after having invoked his right to counsel, holding that the trial judge did not…
Date: June 14, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13027
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of the superior court dismissing this complaint alleging a violation of the Massachusetts wiretap act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, 99, holding that Plaintiff failed to allege…
Date: June 11, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13015
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that social workers, and their approving supervisors, in the Department of Children and Families who attest to facts in sworn affidavits as part of care and protection proceedings…
Date: June 9, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12987
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the sentencing judge denying Defendant's motion to dismiss revocation proceedings and the finding that Defendant violated conditions of his probation, holding that…
Date: June 9, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13098
Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal from various orders regarding Defendant's pretrial detention status the Supreme Judicial Court vacated the decision of the single justice concluding that no due process violation occurred regarding one…
Date: June 8, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12975
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of unlawful distribution of heroin as a subsequent offender and unlawful possession of heroin with intent to distribute as a subsequent offender, holding that…
Date: June 7, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12901
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the Land Court's judgment affirming the decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals of the town of Lynnfield upholding the decision of the building inspector ordering Plaintiff to cease…
Date: June 7, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12917
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of the superior court judge granting Defendant's motion to dismiss this wrongful death action, holding that Plaintiff failed to demonstrate that the duty Defendant owed to…
Date: June 3, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13032
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment of the superior court affirming the decision of the Sex Offender Registry Board denying Doe's motion to vacate her final classification as a level three sex offender,…
Date: June 1, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12919
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the decision of the superior court judge allowing Defendant's motion to suppress, holding that Defendant enjoyed no reasonable expectation of privacy in the text messages sent by him…
Date: May 26, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13002
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed in part the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition filed pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 seeking bail review but remanded the case for the judge…
Date: May 25, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-11503
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for two counts of murder in the first degree and the denial of his motion for a new trial, holding that Defendant was not deprived of his constitutional right…
Date: May 25, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13084
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse her discretion…
Date: May 25, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13085
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition filed pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his…
Date: May 21, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12937
Justia Opinion Summary: In this personal injury suit, the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the trial judge allowing Defendants' motion for a mistrial after Plaintiff's counsel purportedly made improper comments during his closing…
Date: May 21, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13013
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of the Appellate Tax Board granting certain vendors' applications for refunds through the general abatement process for the portion of sales tax they had paid to the…
Date: May 19, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12876 & SJC 12895
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court answered three reported questions regarding judicial proceedings stemming from the denial of a petition for medical parole. Plaintiffs - Raymon Harmon and Brian Racine - were prisoners who…
Date: May 19, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12961
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court dismissed as moot Plaintiffs' appeal arguing that the Department of Correction (DOC) illegally kept them in custody after a final decision on their petitions for medical parole had been made by…
Date: May 19, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12994
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the single justice of the court affirming the decision of the Board of Registration in Medicine revoking Joseph Knight's inchoate right to renew his medical license,…
Date: May 17, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13014
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed Defendant's convictions of armed assault with intent to murder and related charges, holding that the trial judge erred in admitting evidence obtained from a global positioning system…
Date: May 14, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-11839
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree on theories of both deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty, holding that there was no reversible error either in…
Date: May 11, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12973
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a judge of the superior court dismissing Relator's claims alleging that Defendants collectively engaged in and conspired to engage in fraud, holding that this suit was…
Date: May 10, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13011
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a judge of the probate court denying Appellant's special motion to dismiss the amended objection of William Charles Hamm, a protected person, to a conservator's final…
Date: May 6, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12907
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the order of the superior court denying Defendant's motion for a new trial and vacated Defendant's conviction of aggravated rape, holding that Defendant was entitled to a new trial. Defendant…
Date: May 6, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13052
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the allowance of Defendant's motion for a new trial, holding that the evidence supporting the charge of armed home invasion was insufficient to allow a finding beyond a reasonable…
Date: May 5, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13009
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the order of the trial judge denying Defendant's motion to continue his evidentiary hearing on his motion to suppress until it could be held in person, holding that the trial judge…
Date: May 4, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12670
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree on a theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty, holding that there was no error that would require reversal of Defendant's…
Date: April 29, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12977
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court dismissed in part and affirmed in part the judgment of the single justice of the court denying Petitioners' petition filed under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 seeking a stay of execution of their…
Date: April 29, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12980
Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals answered a question certified to it by the Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts by holding that the thirty-day time limitation established in Mains v. Commonwealth, 433 Mass. 30…
Date: April 29, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13046
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of the Appeals Court affirming the denial of a single justice of the Appeals Court denying Defendant's motion to stay execution of his sentence, holding that the Appeals…
Date: April 27, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12974
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court affirming the decision of the Civil Service Commission ordering Plaintiff's reinstatement to his position as a tenured civil service employee,…
Date: April 23, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12393
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree on the theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his allegations of…
Date: April 22, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13028
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the broad eminent domain powers granted to redevelopment authorities by Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 12B, 11(d) include demonstration projects under Mass. Gen. Laws. ch. 121B, 46(f). The…
Date: April 21, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13012
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of the superior court allowing Plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction but amended the first numbered paragraph of the order to affirmatively restrain only Turo…
Date: April 20, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12953
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed Defendant's conviction of two counts of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon resulting in serious injury, holding that the trial court judge erred in excluding one of…
Date: April 14, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12928
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the single justice of the court summarily denying the Commonwealth's petition under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 seeking relief from an evidentiary order of the superior…
Date: April 14, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13020
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition brought under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse her…
Date: April 14, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13056
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the single justice denying Petitioner's petition filed pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws, ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his discretion in…
Date: April 14, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13076
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition filed under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that Petitioner's petition failed because of adequate…
Date: April 12, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12986
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment of the juvenile court finding Juvenile in criminal contempt, holding that the juvenile court judge abused her discretion. Juvenile, who was sixteen years old, was before…
Date: April 9, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12307
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court set aside the verdict in this case, vacated Defendant's conviction, and remanded the matter for a new trial, holding that the prosecutor's failure to disclose certain statements and newly…
Date: April 9, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12948
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the portion of the trial court's judgment denying Plaintiff's claim under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A, 11 and affirmed the remainder of the judgment, holding that the judge erred in…
Date: April 6, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12616
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree and vacated his conviction of accessory after the fact to murder, holding that, under the circumstances, Defendant could not…
Date: March 24, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12946
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case involving the Attorney General's investigation into Facebook, Inc. under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A focusing on whether Facebook misrepresented the extent to which it protected or misused user data the Supreme…
Date: March 22, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12863
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court remanded this matter to the county court for entry of a judgment allowing Defendant's petition pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 and ordering that the superior court judge's order…
Date: March 16, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12382
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court exercised its authority under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278, 33E to reduce the jury's verdict of murder in the first degree to murder in the second degree, holding that, in light of the…
Date: March 12, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12934
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed in part and vacated in part the judgment of the superior court granting summary judgment to Defendants on some of Plaintiffs' claims and granting judgment for Plaintiffs on their…
Date: March 11, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12947
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that should Littleton, Acton, or both towns choose to exercise their rights to take the waters of Nagog Pond and apply for a permit under the Water Management Act (WMA), Mass. Gen. Laws…
Date: March 10, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12944 & SJC 12963
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the two judgments of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petitions for extraordinary relief pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, by which Petitioner sought pretrial…
Date: March 10, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13037
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition filed pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 seeking an order keeping her approved federal rental voucher…
Date: March 5, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12988
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the ministerial exception did not apply to Plaintiff, an associate professor of social work at a private Christian liberal arts college, and therefore, the superior court judge did…
Date: March 1, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12853
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the underlying judgment of the Housing Court in this summary process eviction action awarding possession to Landlord, holding that Tenant's appeals regarding his requests for…
Date: February 26, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12921
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the traditional but-for factual causation standard is the appropriate standard to be employed in medical malpractice cases, including those involving multiple alleged causes, and…
Date: February 23, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12457
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions three counts of murder in the first degree and concluded that Defendant was not entitled to relief under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278, 33E, holding that there was…
Date: February 23, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12932
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of the superior court denying Defendant's motion for credit for time he served on a drug conviction that was vacated after the scandal at the State Laboratory Institute in…
Date: February 22, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12701
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated Defendant's convictions of murder in the first degree and armed assault with intent to murder and affirmed Defendant's conviction of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon,…
Date: February 17, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12920
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 79, the so-called "quick take" statute, permits a property owner to both accept a pro tanto payment for an eminent domain taking and simultaneously challenge the…
Date: February 12, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12930
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated some of Defendant's convictions, holding that the case must be remanded for an evidentiary hearing as to Defendant's motion to suppress and a determination as to whether the first prong…
Date: February 11, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12799
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the decision of the superior court granting a new trial in this criminal case after concluding that the evidence was insufficient to support Defendant's murder conviction on a theory…
Date: February 9, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12922
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the judgment of the superior court judge affirming the decision of a hearing officer upholding MassHealth's denial of Plaintiff's application for Medicaid benefits on the grounds that…
Date: February 4, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-11341
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for murder in the first degree with deliberate premeditation, holding that there was no reversible error in the proceedings below and no reason for this Court to…
Date: February 4, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13042
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition filed pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his…
Date: February 2, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12933
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of the Sex Offender Registry Board ordering John Doe to register as a level three offender, holding that the Board's decision was not arbitrary or capricious and was…
Date: January 29, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12903
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the superior court's judgment allowing Psychemedics Corporation's motion for summary judgment on its claim for declaratory relief against the City of Boston on the ground that it had no…
Date: January 29, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12904
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case involving claims of personal injury and product liability against the manufacturer of a medical device the Supreme Judicial Court reversed the decision of the superior court judge denying the manufacturer's…
Date: January 26, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12964
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court answered three questions reported by the juvenile court judge regarding waiver, evidentiary rules, and discovery procedures for hearings conducted under the procedures set forth in Wallace W.…
Date: January 26, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12967
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that "a first offense of a [minor] misdemeanor" in Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 119, 52 refers to a first episode of minor misdemeanor level misconduct. Four juveniles with no prior offenses were…
Date: January 22, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12133
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for murder in the first degree on the theory of felony murder and other crimes, holding that there was no prejudicial error in the proceedings…
Date: January 22, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-13034
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition filed pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 seeking relief from a superior court judge's order denying his…
Date: January 20, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-11279
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for murder in the first degree by deliberate premeditation and of unlawful possession of a firearm, holding that a new trial was not required because there was…
Date: January 20, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12378
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgments entered against Defendant in this criminal case, holding that the trial judge abused his discretion in excusing a juror who claimed to be unable to begin deliberations…
Date: January 19, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12882
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that 120 Code Mass. Regs. 200.08(3)(c) (regulation), which concerns parole eligibility for inmates sentenced to a prison term that runs consecutive to a life sentence, is contrary to the…
Date: January 19, 2021
Docket Numbers: SJC-12915, SJC-12916
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the orders of the juvenile court judge requiring the Department of Youth Services (DYS) to credit the time that two youthful offenders spent detained in DYS custody prior to being…
Date: January 11, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12938
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the trial judge's order allowing Defendant's motion to suppress evidence found on Defendant's cell phone and remanded the case to the superior court for further rulings regarding…
Date: January 4, 2021
Docket Number: SJC-12883
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that this action against Uber Technologies, Inc. and Easier, LLC (collectively, Uber) was not arbitrable because there was no enforceable agreement between Uber and Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs…
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