New England Biz Law Update

For attorneys and law firms deciding what to charge, and for in-house counsel who want to be savvy customers of legal services, a recently released “rate report” compiled by a legal analytics company is a virtual treasure trove of information.

Two years after the “bounty” provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act on financial reforms took effect, whistleblower matters remain a sizzling growth area for lawyers in employment or finance and securities practice areas — or, as is increasingly common, on a ...

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue

Individual borrowers alleging that Bank of America mismanaged their loan modification requests under the federal Home Affordable Modification Program were not entitled to certification as a class, a U.S. District Court judge has found. As a HAMP servicer, the bank ...

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue

A Massachusetts Superior Court judge’s finding that real estate agents are governed by the commonwealth’s real estate statute, G.L. c.112, §87RR, and not the state’s independent contractor law, is headed to the Appeals Court, according to lawyers on both sides ...

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue

Corporate plaintiffs that prevailed in an administrative proceeding involving pollution charges could recover counsel fees without first establishing a net worth under $500,000, a Rhode Island Superior Court judge has ruled.

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue

An insurance company’s denial of an application for long-term disability benefits could not be upheld even though video surveillance showed the applicant engaged in activities inconsistent with her claimed disability, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue

A pharmaceutical company should not have been awarded summary judgment on an employee’s claim that he was denied a promotion upon returning from military duty in Iraq, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue

A nationwide surge in wage-and-hour lawsuits has been particularly pronounced in Massachusetts, where 2008 changes to the state’s Wage Act made the award of treble damages mandatory in all wage claim cases.

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue

Businesses got a temporary reprieve over the summer when the Obama administration announced a yearlong delay in the enforcement of the federal requirement that employers provide health care coverage to workers or pay a fine.

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue

Two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court that challenge an Environmental Protection Agency rule designed to reduce the amount of power plant air pollutants that drift across state lines may be the first in a flurry of high court environmental ...

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue