New England Biz Law Update

A summary judgment for a defendant employer on a plaintiff’s disability-based hostile work environment claim must be affirmed absent evidence that the plaintiff’s back and neck pain substantially limits any major life activities.

Tagged with: April 30 2012 issue

A federal judge’s discretion to award fees in copyright infringement cases is not limited to deterrence of “out-of-court and bad-faith conduct.”

Tagged with: April 30 2012 issue

Where a plaintiff brought suit claiming that the defendant failed to protect sensitive nonpublic personal information as it was obligated to do under both contract and consumer protection laws, a judgment of dismissal must be affirmed, as (1) the plaintiff’s ...

Tagged with: April 30 2012 issue

A party’s designation of a deposition witness who is not sufficiently knowledgeable or prepared for the deposition should not be treated as a sanctionable non-appearance under Rule 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Tagged with: April 30 2012 issue

Where a defendant company was awarded summary judgment in a securities fraud case, the judgment must be affirmed for lack of proof of scienter.

Tagged with: March 31 2012 issue

Where a judge entered summary judgment affirming the denial of a claim for retirement benefits purportedly owed to the plaintiff’s deceased sister under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the claim was permissibly denied on evidentiary grounds.

Tagged with: March 31 2012 issue

A diversity action filed in federal court by a plaintiff against her former employer should not have been dismissed in deference to a pending declaratory judgment action that the employer brought earlier in state court.

Tagged with: March 31 2012 issue

The phrase “legally obligated to pay as damages” in a commercial general liability policy covers only liability arising in tort and does not provide coverage for liability arising from a breach of contract.

Tagged with: March 31 2012 issue

A plaintiff who slipped and fell while shopping at the defendant’s supermarket has no plausible claim of spoliation based on a failure by the defendant’s employees to photograph the scene of the accident.

Tagged with: March 31 2012 issue

A judgment holding a company liable for cleanup of a Superfund site must be affirmed based on evidence that the company arranged with the site’s operator for disposal of scrap Pyranol. United States v. General Electric Company (Lawyers Weekly No. ...

Tagged with: March 31 2012 issue