New England Biz Law Update

Two private equity funds that co-owned a manufacturer that went bankrupt were not responsible for pension fund withdrawal liability the company incurred at the time of its bankruptcy, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has found. Plaintiffs Sun Capital ...

A Brown University student who was disciplined for cheating on a take-home exam could not bring contract and tort claims against the school for her punishment, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled. The university’s Committee on the ...

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act implicitly provides a “reasonable reliance” defense for companies accused of making unwanted pre-recorded solicitation calls, a U.S. District Court judge has determined. Defendant Boston Scientific Corp., a medical device manufacturer that partnered with health clinics ...

A school principal who received a negative evaluation and was reassigned to what she deemed a lesser position could not bring claims for retaliation and hostile work environment, a U.S. magistrate judge in Rhode Island has ruled. Plaintiff Nadine Lima, ...

A neurologist at Boston Medical Center who claimed she was subjected to a hostile work environment did not provide sufficient evidence of a pattern of gender bias to support her claim, a Superior Court judge in Massachusetts has found. Plaintiff ...

Plaintiffs who brought a class action accusing their former employer of breaching its fiduciary duties by mismanaging its employee retirement plan were not entitled to a jury trial, a U.S. District Court judge in Massachusetts has found. The plaintiffs sought ...

The CVS Pharmacy corporation was entitled to a preliminary injunction blocking the executive who ran its Caremark retail network from working for Amazon’s new online pharmacy, a U.S. District Court judge in Rhode Island has decided. Defendant John Lavin, who ...

A manufacturer that alleged another company breached the implied warranty of merchantability by selling it defectively designed parts was not required to prove the defect was foreseeable by reasonable testing in order to sustain its claim, the 1st U.S. Circuit ...

A contract between two companies to develop renewable energy projects was not orally modified by a “mutual understanding” allegedly reached during mid-project conversations between the parties, a U.S. District Court judge in Rhode Island has ruled. Under a master agreement ...

A Massachusetts resident who provided outside sales services to a Taiwanese manufacturer was misclassified as an independent contractor and entitled to Wage Act protections, a U.S. District Court judge has found. In a 2002 contract, defendant Powertech Industrial Co. agreed ...