New England Biz Law Update

An insurance company that issued a policy to a nightclub operator must defend the policyholder in a personal injury action brought by an injured patron, a U.S. District Court judge has determined. The insurer moved for summary judgment, arguing that ...

Shareholders of EMC Corp. could not bring a direct class action accusing company directors of breaching a fiduciary duty by recommending EMC’s sale for an allegedly inadequate price, a Superior Court judge in Massachusetts has ruled in a case of ...

Richard Heller is the first and only general counsel in the history of Legal Sea Foods, the New England institution that has come to set the standard for ocean-fare restaurants across the country. Since joining the company in 2003, Heller, ...

A confidentiality agreement that an employee signed in 2005 in conjunction with a separate employment agreement was no longer enforceable after the employee executed a new employment agreement in 2012 that made no reference to any existing confidentiality agreement, a ...

The numbers are clear: The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent rejection of challenges to Ropes & Gray’s district court victories on discrimination and retaliation claims should not be taken as a clear sign of progress in diversifying the ...

Attorneys routinely communicate with clients by email, relying on the assumption that their communications are cloaked with the attorney-client privilege and the work product protection. But that can be a dangerous assumption in the close corporation context, where shareholders owe ...

A maternity patient at Boston Medical Center who was sexually assaulted by a non-clinical employee that was alone with her in violation of institutional policy could bring a negligent supervision action against the hospital, the Appeals Court has ruled. A ...

The University of Rhode Island could not prohibit its part-time faculty members from teaching more than two courses in a semester, a Superior Court judge has determined. An arbitrator ordered the university to refrain from imposing a two-course limit per ...

An employee who was fired as soon as her medical leave ended could not sue her employer for interfering with her Family and Medical Leave Act rights, a federal judge has determined. The defendant employer and a co-defendant vice president ...

A bank manager’s unauthorized review and use of privileged emails detailing his former employer’s litigation strategy warranted the dismissal of his lawsuit over breach of his employment contract, a U.S. District Court judge has ruled. The plaintiff, John C. Ponte, ...