Most people who provide services to customers and clients have heard a thing or two about mechanic’s liens. But, that’s about the extent of their knowledge, so we often receive questions asking if we can help attain one for our clients--often too late. What is a mechanic’s lien? It’s filed pursuant to G.L. c. 254, which was designed to provide security to contractors, subcontractors, laborers and suppliers whenever they add value to real estate. However,
Many employed, adult children are eligible for medical flexible spending accounts which can save them approximately $1,000.00 a year. A flexible spending account (or FSA) allows adult children to pay for up to $2,500.00 of medical care expenses for their parent using pre-tax dollars. Although the expenses paid for with this account cannot be included as an income tax deduction, it is still a valuable tool in situations where the patent’s cost of care is
In the recent RE/MAX of New England, Inc. et al. v. Prestige Real Estate, Inc. et al decision, the U.S. District Court gave further pause to parties intending to enforce their non-compete clause. In the case at hand, the plaintiff parent company was intending to prevent the defendant from competing in its market after leaving RE/Max for several specific reasons that were not contested. The court, however, cited to the Lombard Medical Technologies decision, whereby
When hiring a new employee, employers often don’t adequately consider the “end” of the relationship and how important that can be to the future of their company. When hiring an employee, it is important that, as part of the hiring process, the employer consider having the employee sign both a non-competition agreement and a non-disclosure agreement. In the recent decision in, Scientific Corp. v. Lee, the U.S. District Court very clearly addressed the issue of
It is becoming ever increasingly common to find condominium association documents seeking to limit unit owners' rights, in the attempt to restrict activity that could impact other unit owners' quiet enjoyment of their units. A more common target of these restrictions is the unit owners' right to rent their unit. Dating back to 1975, Massachusetts case law has supported the administrative rights to restrict use and operation of common areas, in recognizing the c. 183A,
In a recent case, William Benson v. Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Court of Appeals held that assault pay, in addition to Workers’ Compensation benefits, is available to corrections officers injured on the job as a result of inmate violence. The Court of Appeals did distinguish between the two benefits in regards to how the amounts are calculated. The Court of Appeals ruled that additional pay, such as night-shift differential and weekend differential, is included in the
Have you read the legal justifications to obtain a variance? The grant of a variance in Massachusetts is nearly indefensible! Whenever I see a savvy board or a potentially problematic abutter, I suggest to my clients that they look to Chapter 40A, Section 6, whenever possible. A “finding” under this section only requires a Special Permit, and therefore has a much lower threshold for approval. Of course, you cannot seek a “finding” for just any
Cambridge courthouse fight could affect other state properties (Boston Globe) Robert Pellegrini, a land-use lawyer based in Bridgewater, said he would be surprised if the courthouse neighbors emerge victorious. Such a decision, he said, would make it harder for cities and towns to clean up blighted government properties. Read the full article at bostonglobe.com...
Often times, there can be a significant difference between what your business owner thinks her business is worth, and what a buyer is willing to pay. A common issue is that business valuation is a difficult task and simply cannot always be quantified. A creative solution can often take the shape of a simple, well-written Earn-out agreement. An Earn-out agreement can provide the business seller with the opportunity to prove the worth of her
Recently, in the case of Townhomes of Beverly v. Luangrath, the Appeals court answered this question. In the Luangrath case, the court first looked to the plain language of the Lease. The court properly recognized the defendant as a “tenant at sufferance”, and noted that the correct measure of damages is the ‘then current fair rental value’ of the premises, unless, of course the Lease (contract) determines otherwise. In the Luangrath’s case, the lease provided