New England Biz Law Update

Weighing a plaintiff’s disability discrimination and FMLA retaliation claims under the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting paradigm, a federal judge in Rhode Island has determined they cannot withstand the defendant employer’s motion for summary judgment. The suit was brought by Lisa O’Rourke ...

A business that provides sales and marketing services to energy and wireless companies was not the “joint employer” of door-to-door salespeople hired by one of its subcontractors, a judge in Massachusetts’ Business Litigation session has decided. Defendant Credico (USA) LLC ...

Purchasers of a diabetes drug can pursue antitrust claims based on allegations that drug maker Sanofi-Aventis wrongfully extended its monopoly by improperly listing a patent in the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s “Orange Book,” the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of ...

A biotech company that terminated an executive before he reached certain equity incentives under his contract did not breach the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. Abiomed hired plaintiff ...

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 Cambridge software company could pursue statutory false advertising claims against a competitor that touted on its website a “white paper” disparaging the plaintiff’s products without disclosing that the defendant had commissioned the study, a U.S. District Court judge in ...

Claims by two female employees that their former supervisor subjected them to a hostile work environment based on their gender and retaliated against them when they complained of the discrimination presented genuine, material disputes of fact foreclosing summary judgment in ...

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 ...

Customer service representatives at the call center of a company that sells internet-based home security systems were entitled to Sunday “premium pay” under state wage and hour law, a Massachusetts Superior Court judge in the Business Litigation Session has ruled. ...

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 ...