- Short Sales Get Boost From New Obama Treasury Guidelines
Posted December 1, 2009, 4:01 pm by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq.
While America was fretting and tweeting about Tiger Woods' (and his wife's) driving skills, the Obama administration on Monday set long-awaited guidance on a plan for mortgage companies to speed up short sales of homes and other loan modification alternatives to stem the rising tide of foreclosures. The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program provides financial incentives and simplifies the procedures for completing short sales, a growing practice in which a lender agrees to accept the...
- Methuen Accident Injures Three After Car Crosses Median
Posted December 1, 2009, 7:44 am by Altman & Altman
Massachusetts State Police report that last Friday a wrong-way car accident in Methuen seriously injured three people. The car collision occurred around 3pm on Route 213 when a 2006 Pontiac G6 crossed over the median and hit a 2000 Ford Explorer head-on. The driver of the Pontiac, a 19-year-old Methuen man, was injured in the auto accident and was taken to Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. The 63-year-old driver of the SUV and his 50-year-old passenger were also injured and taken to Lawrence...
- Non-Competes and Promotions: The First Circuit's Take in Astro-Med
Posted November 30, 2009, 9:00 pm by David Conforto
Non-compete agreements must be reasonably limited in time and geographic scope and supported by consideration in order to be enforceable (among other factors). In many circumstances, the "consideration" equals a job. As an employee's job changes, however, a new non-compete may be required. In 2004, three separate Massachusetts Superior Court decisions made clear that a restrictive covenant is likely unenforceable where it was entered into prior to material changes -- such as a promotion -- in...
- HealthBlawg listed in ABA Journal Blawg 100
Posted November 30, 2009, 6:30 pm by David Harlow
I'm pleased to announce that HealthBlawg has been named to the ABA Journal Blawg 100. I appreciate the recognition, and the nominations from you, dear readers, that put this blawg on the list. I do not envy the editors who had to make the tough decisions -- there are many more than 100 deserving blawgs out there. Since I began blogging over three years ago, I have been fortunate enough to get to know many bloggers -- including some of the other honorees -- both IRL (in real life) and virtually...
- "The Insurance Adjuster Won't Call Me Back. What Should I Do?"
Posted November 30, 2009, 4:25 pm by ChristopherFEarley
Ah yes, the frustration of dealing with insurance adjusters. Most of them are dealing with hundreds of files, and your case is just another file. The best way to reach an adjuster who is not calling you back is to reach out to the adjuster's supervisor. That almost always works, and is your best option for reaching an unresponsive adjuster. If your case is not in litigation, your file then does not get much attention from an insurance company. But, as soon as a lawsuit is filed, you will find...
- H-1B CAP UPDATE - 11/27/09
Posted November 30, 2009, 3:19 pm by Bradley Maged
The USCIS has received 58,900 H-1B cap petitions for FY-2010 by November 28, 2009. This represents an additional 2000 H-1B petitions filed as compared with just a week earlier. There are not expected to be many more, if any, available H-1Bs by the time January 2010 rolls around. As of April 1, 2010, employers can start filing for the 2011 fiscal year which begins October 1, 2010. There are also a variety of cap-exempt H-1B petitions that are not subject to the numerical limitation of 65,000...
- TRANSITION TO U.S. IMMIGRATION LAW BEGINS IN THE CNMI
Posted November 30, 2009, 10:59 am by Bradley Maged
According to a USCIS Press Release: "The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced that at 12:01 a.m. (CNMI local time/GMT +10.) tomorrow, Nov. 28, the immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) will be replaced by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and other U.S. immigration laws. The definition of "United States" in the INA simultaneously will be amended to include the CNMI-providing new privileges and easing restrictions to CNMI...
- Gravel Travel Accident Kills Construction Worker
Posted November 30, 2009, 8:34 am
Last Tuesday morning, an accident involving a gravel truck killed a 54-year-old construction worker. Police say the worker died at the scene of the construction accident after the gravel truck accidentally drove over him. Authorities are continuing to investigate the fatal accident. In addition to motor vehicle accidents, construction workers face a number of other hazards on the job, including crane collapses, welding accidents, on-site explosions, fires, defective construction tools, and...
- Bus Injures Pedestrian in Springfield
Posted November 30, 2009, 8:25 am by Altman & Altman
In Massachusetts, a Pioneer Valley Transit Authority bus hit a pedestrian who was attempting to cross the street a few weeks ago. Police report that the bus accident victim was transported to the hospital with minor injuries. The accident occurred just after 7am at the intersection of Main and Liberty Street in Springfield. According to witnesses, the man was struck by the eastbound bus when he crossed the street against a green light. The names of the victim and the bus driver have not been...
- Hasselbeck Hassle-free After Plagiarism Claim Dismissed
Posted November 30, 2009, 7:08 am by Sheldon Toplitt
A federal judge in Boston has tossed the plagiarism suit against "The View" co-host Elizabeth Hasselbeck brought by Cape Cod author Susan Hassett, who claimed her self-published book, Living with Celiac Disease, was the food source, so to speak, for Hasselbeck's best-selling tome, The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide. The case, Hassett v. Hasselbeck & Center Street Hachette Book Group (Case No. 1:2009cv11063) was dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Tauro after Hassett's...
- Westlaw, Lexis, Announce That They are Yielding to Google Scholar, Terminating Legal Search Service Effective Immediately
Posted November 30, 2009, 4:32 am by Lee.Gesmer
Just kidding, but Columbia Law School's Altlaw, which I've used off and on, really is shutting down: Nov. 19, 2009. Earlier this week, Google announced the addition of legal cases to Google Scholar. It's good, very good. But you don't have to take our word for it: try it out yourself. Everything we have done or planned to do with AltLaw, Google has does better. What else would you expect? Search is their core business; they have hundreds of brilliant engineers, a vast computing infrastructure,...
- Gun possession conviction affirmed by Massachusetts court on constructive possession theory
Posted November 29, 2009, 10:31 pm by Michael DelSignore
Massachusetts criminal defense lawyers defending gun charges must prove that the defendant did not exercise dominion and control over the firearm. If a firearm is not found on a defendant, the Commonwealth will argue that the defendant constructively possessed the firearm, either by arguing that the defendant had access to the firearm or that it was discarded prior to the police arriving. Massachusetts gun charges, of ="_blank">possession of a firearm without an FID card or unlawful...
- High School Football Player Pleads Not Guilty to Massachusetts Assault and Battery Charge for Head-Butting Opponent
Posted November 29, 2009, 10:30 pm by Altman & Altman
James LaShoto, a 17-year-old football player for Arlington High School, has pleaded not guilty to a Massachusetts assault and battery charge for head-butting Daniel Curtin, an Abington High School player during a September 19 game. He entered his plea last week in Cambridge District Court before being released on personal recognizance. Police say that the alleged incident occurred after Curtin's helmet was knocked off. He was unable to play for 10 days following the head-butt, which was...
- DUI checkpoints frequent in Massachusetts and nationwide
Posted November 29, 2009, 10:22 pm by Michael DelSignore
DUI roadblocks and checkpoints occur frequently in Massachusetts and throughout the country, but studies suggest that checkpoints are less efficient than having police cars on random patrol. Often, Massachusetts OUI roadblock cases make difficult cases for the Commonwealth, because there is generally no evidence of unsafe, poor or dangerous driving, but exclusive reliance on field sobriety testing and the officer's subjective opinion. Supports of DUI checkpoints like Mothers Against Drunk...
- Confessions of an Absentee Father
Posted November 29, 2009, 5:00 pm by Gabriel Cheong
I found a new blog recently that I hope to follow and see what happens. It's written by a father of a 22-yr old daughter who he has not known since she was a week old. She recently reached out to him and he now documents his journey and feelings of being an absentee father. Confessions of an Absentee Father Related posts: A World Without Fathers and Husbands What if our society didn't value the idea of a... Where Family Law Intersects Immigration Law: Divorcing while a Conditional Resident...
- How do you sell your home in a Bankruptcy
Posted November 29, 2009, 5:22 am by info
There are two main chapters (or types) of Bankruptcy that Consumers typically file. Chapter 7 (liquidation) and Chapter 13 (reorganization). In order to sell your property in either of these, the bankruptcy court must not have an interest in the property or give permission to effectuate a sale. Under the Federal bankruptcy law, as soon as you file for bankruptcy, all of your legal and equitable interests become assets of the bankruptcy estate and as a result, is administered or managed by the...
- What Does a Good Bankruptcy Attorney Do?
Posted November 29, 2009, 4:10 am
I've compared my role as a debtor's attorney as similar to that of a boy scout. My job is to help my debtor client cross the road without getting hit by the bus. A big part of that job is done while preparing. In essence, I get behind the steering ...
- Massachusetts Police Brutality Suit Against City Is Settled
Posted November 29, 2009, 2:04 am by William D. Kickham
In a type of case that is a hybrid between a Massachusetts personal injury suit and a civil rights claim, the City of Attleboro, Massachusetts has agreed to pay a 17 year-old girl $100,000 in damages to settle a suit against the city alleging excessive use of force, and police brutality. Esther Durex, then 16 years old at the time of the incident on October 12 2008, said she was beaten by police after leaving a party on that date last year. The settlement was negotiated with the city by the...
- Why Personal Injury Claims Can Take Forever to Resolve
Posted November 28, 2009, 10:29 am by ChristopherFEarley
Some cases settle relatively quickly, while some take years to settle. Oftentimes, there is no settlement at all after years of litigation and the case must be decided in court by either a judge or jury. The bottom line: there is no way to predict how long your case will take to resolve, assuming it even does resolve. Here is a great article on why, and how, there are so many delays with personal injury cases, from the National Association of Personal Injury Lawyers wesbite: "In this article, I...
- Massachusetts Assault & Battery Charges Filed Against High School Football Player.
Posted November 28, 2009, 2:48 am by William D. Kickham
Here's an interesting development that's appropriate for the high school and college football season, and it underscores that the words "foul play" have as much to do with criminal law as they do with sports. An Arlington, Massachusetts high school football player has been formally charged with criminal assault and battery, as the result of a "head-butt" he inflicted against an opposing team's player. Arlington Catholic High School football player James LaShoto was arraigned this Friday in...