New England Biz Law Update

After a series of rulings that left some litigators questioning the future of class action litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court will wade into the issue once again next term with a decision that could clarify class certification standards, but also ...

Tagged with: July 31 2012 issue

An employer could not rely on the “inevitable disclosure doctrine” to obtain a preliminary injunction restricting the scope of the work two former employees could perform after joining a competitor, a U.S. District Court judge in Boston has ruled.

Tagged with: July 31 2012 issue

Like other factors that increase a criminal defendant’s sentence, facts that determine the amount of criminal fines imposed on a defendant must be decided beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 6-3 ...

Tagged with: July 31 2012 issue

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held in an issue of first impression that an arbitrator, and not a judge, must decide if an arbitration agreement allows for a dispute to move forward individually or on a class-wide ...

Tagged with: July 31 2012 issue

A bank that required customers to answer security questions before it cleared any electronic withdrawal of more than $1, but allegedly failed to implement further security measures to detect and address suspicious transactions, could be sued under Article 4A of ...

Tagged with: July 31 2012 issue

The final provision of Massachusetts’ two-year-old CORI reform law quietly went into effect on May 4. Intended to give employers online access to applicants’ criminal histories while changing what can and cannot appear on initial written job applications, the new ...

Tagged with: June 30 2012 issue

Before the ink had dried on his multi-million-dollar contract, Paul V. Kelly knew he had a problem on his hands.

Tagged with: July 16 2012 issue

Two railroads charged under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act with negligently causing injuries to a former employee could introduce evidence that the employee was getting about $3,000 a month in disability benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act, the 1st U.S. ...

Tagged with: July 16 2012 issue

The U.S. Supreme Court nixed a claim by pharmaceutical representatives seeking overtime pay, ruling that such workers are “outside salespeople” and not employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Tagged with: July 16 2012 issue

A plaintiff who lost her job as store manager could not prove disability discrimination because her knee condition prevented her from performing physical tasks that were essential job functions according to the employer’s official written description of her position, the ...