- Is it Under Copyright? Check Here
Posted July 25, 2008, 1:40 am by Lee Gesmer
Whether a U.S. work is protected by U.S. copyright is often a difficult question to answer. It can depend on factors such date of first publication, whether the work was published with a copyright notice, whether the copyright was renewed, whether the author is living or dead and, if dead, when the author died. Technology to the rescue!, sort of …. Click on the graphic below to go to the American Library Association "Copyright Advisory Network" website where you can use the "digital slide...
- Not-So-Luck Stryker: 1993 Massachusetts Murder Suspect Charged, But Not With Murder
Posted July 24, 2008, 9:30 pm by William D. Kickham
In my previous post, I discussed the events surrounding the unsolved murder of Dr. Linda Goudey and the successful wrongful death lawsuit brought by her family, against Dr. Timothy Stryker, whom they believe murdered Dr. Goudey in 1993. Earlier this week, Dr. Stryker was arrested by police and charged - but not with murder. Instead, he was charged with multiple counts of perjury, conspiracy to commit perjury, bribing a witness as well as multiple counts of subornation of perjury ("subornation...
- Update for Recording Fees for Multiple Transactions in a Single Document
Posted July 24, 2008, 3:52 pm by Doug Cornelius
The Massachusetts Real Estate Bar Association sent me a notice that: On July 13, 2008, Governor Patrick signed the FY 2009 budget which included outside sections amending Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 262, § 38 and Chapter 44B, § 8 to require additional recording fees for multifunctional documents. The Amendments provide that "when a document includes multiple references to a document or instrument intending or attempting to assign discharge, release, partially release, subordinate or...
- Massachusetts Lawyer Discussing Laws Prohibiting Discrimination Against People with Disabilities
Posted July 24, 2008, 12:12 pm by Kevin P. Whitaker
Massachusetts laws prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities in Massachusetts disability cases, arising under Federal and MA Discrimination laws, may have different meanings in different contexts. If you are being discriminated against due to a disability or perceived disability there may be a number of legal claims for you to consider to aid in protecting your rights.The enforcement of disability discrimination laws can involve different courts or commissions and may require...
- Taunton, Massachusetts Foreclosure Victim Takes Her Life After Faxing a Note to Her Mortgage Company Just Hours Before the Auction
Posted July 23, 2008, 10:48 pm by Kevin P. Whitaker
Boston.com article, "Mass. woman kills self before home foreclosure," reports: A 53-year-old wife and mother fatally shot herself shortly after faxing a letter to her mortgage company saying that by the time they foreclosed on her house that day, she would be dead. According the the article, her husband did not know the foreclosure was scheduled today because his wife took care of the bills and mail. The article also indicates the woman may have thought that life insurance proceeds could be...
- Some More Thoughts on the Primacy of the ERISA Plan Document
Posted July 23, 2008, 8:11 pm by Stephen D. Rosenberg
Judge Gertner of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts has an interesting, if brief, ruling that is just out granting a motion to dismiss a severance pay claim under an ERISA governed plan. What caught my eye about it relates back to this post I wrote a few weeks ago, in which I pointed out the need, in litigation planning and counseling concerning ERISA plans, to resist putting undue emphasis on representations that are inconsistent with the actual terms of a plan,...
- Crane Collapse at Refinery Kills Four Workers
Posted July 23, 2008, 6:57 pm
In light of recent crane accidents around the country, crane safety has been a top concern for city officials across the country. Federal investigators from OSHA descended on a Houston oil refinery over the weekend to examine the site of a crane accident that took four workers' lives and injured seven others. The 30-story-tall crane, which was capable of lifting up to 1 million pounds, had collapsed last Friday around 1:20 pm. The Louisiana-based crane company Deep South Crane & Rigging...
- Traps for the Unwary - Waiver
Posted July 23, 2008, 1:34 pm by Lee Gesmer
What do lawyers fear the most? Spiders, snakes, public speaking, death by auto de fé? Well, I'll be darned if I know, but one thing that scares the bejesus out of all thinking lawyers is waiver. Lawyers start to become vaguely aware of this horror in law school. Once they go out into practice it slowly dawns on them that it's ultimately undefinable, that it lurks behind every legal shrub and tree, that opposing counsel will throw it in your face when you least expect it and long after you can...
- 1993 Massachusetts Murder Suspect Arrested on Perjury/Bribery Charges Related To Wrongful Death Judgment
Posted July 23, 2008, 6:24 am by William D. Kickham
It's not unheard of for murder cases to go unsolved. This only makes the pain even worse for the victim's loved ones and family. Such was and has been the case for the family of the late Dr. Linda Goudey, who was found strangled to death in the trunk of her car in the parking lot of the New England Memorial Hospital in Stoneham, Massachusetts, in October of 1993. Dr. Goudey had worked as an obstetrician at the hospital. She had also dated another doctor for the previous four years, an...
- Batman Star Christian Bale Denies Assault Allegations
Posted July 22, 2008, 10:07 pm by Altman & Altman
Actor Christian Bale was released on bail on Tuesday, after he was arrested earlier in the day following allegations that he assaulted his sister and mother. Bale has issued a statement denying the allegations. The 34-year-old movie star was detained at the London police station in England following his arrest. Bale's mother and sister are accusing him of assaulting them at the Dorchester Hotel, the day before the latest Batman movie, "The Dark Knight," had its European premier in London....
- Rambus: Monopolization Redux
Posted July 22, 2008, 7:38 pm by Lee Gesmer
Nvidia has filed a Sherman Act complaint against Rambus in federal district court in North Carolina. The allegations appear to echo (copy?) the allegations in the FTC case I reported on recently, where the D.C. Circuit reversed the FTC's finding of illegal monopolization by Rambus. Can Rambus file a successful motion to dismiss in this new case based on the D.C. Circuit's decision? Very likely. Why did Nvidia file this suit? My first thought is that Nvidia was concerned about a statute of...
- The First Circuit on ERISA Standing
Posted July 22, 2008, 6:20 pm by Stephen D. Rosenberg
Very interesting case out of the First Circuit the other day on the question of whether former employees satisfy ERISA standing requirements with regard to defined contribution plans. Short answer is they do, but the Court's analysis and discussion is an interesting open field run across a range of issues that are both explicit and implicit to any consideration of this question. One particular point, basically noted in a footnote, was of particular interest to me. I have discussed frequently in...
- ESI and Admissibility
Posted July 22, 2008, 1:44 pm by Lee Gesmer
After writing the post immediately below it occurred to me that although there is much talk about the discovery of electronically stored evidence (ESI), the admissibility of ESI is addressed far less often. In fact, in the two day conference I linked to in that post, the topic is not even mentioned. For the interested, there are two important starting places for this topic. The first is the 101 page decision in Lorraine v. Markel American Insurance Company by Magistrate Judge Paul Grimm (one of...
- EEOC Filings and Trade Secrets - The Confidential Stamp May Not Be Enough
Posted July 22, 2008, 11:36 am by Kevin P. Whitaker
Do you submit confidential documents to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)? David A. Skidmore, Jr. and William F. Becker in a Frost Brown Todd LLC Client Advisory, "Take care when providing proprietary or confidential information to the EEOC", discuss issues a company should consider when making an EEOC filing. Their article follows from their reading of Venetian Casino Resort, L.L.C. v. EEOC, decided June 27, 2008, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals: First, employers should...
- Rock Star Judges and E-Law
Posted July 21, 2008, 7:22 pm by Lee Gesmer
Anytime these judges write an opinion, it's treated like a papal encyclical," . . . They really influence other judges, who act like these are the rock stars of their profession. . . These 'rock star' judges are not surprised that they, and not the new rules, are still the final word in e-discovery. . . . Quoted from Rockin' Out the E-Law, ABA Journal, July 2008. Rock star judges, huh? OK, I'm trying not to wince, laugh or, well, you know… The American Bar Association needs to sell its...
- Northborough Construction Accident Leaves Teen Injured
Posted July 21, 2008, 6:39 pm
A 15-year-old boy was injured while helping his uncle on a residential construction project in Northborough, Massachusetts earlier this month. The uncle was identified as Stephen MacDonald of Natick and the company in question is Stephen MacDonald Construction, Inc. The names of the teen and his 16-year-old brother, who was also helping, have not been released to the press. The two teens were moving lumber when the younger brother fell through a hole in the first floor, landing face-first in...
- Parents of Deceased Boston Teen Want to Know if Product Defect Caused Ventilator to Shut Down
Posted July 21, 2008, 3:56 pm by Altman & Altman
The family of Fernando Vargas, an East Boston teenager who died after his ventilator turned off during a power shortage last week, wants to know if his death occurred because the medical device was defective. A preliminary police probe found that the ventilator's backup battery failed during the two-hour power failure that occurred last week. The ventilator will be tested to find out what caused the malfunction. New England Home Therapies, the MassHealth Contractor that supplied Vargas with the...
- Protecting Your Online Reputation By Knowing What's Being Said About You:
Posted July 20, 2008, 3:14 pm by Kevin P. Whitaker
Do you know what's being said about you on the internet? Whether you're a Massachusetts small business owner, an individual, or a parent, are you monitoring the conversations about you, your business, or your family taking place on the internet? Check out What Should Every Company Be Monitoring? for a list of ideas. You can't respond to what you don't know about. I use alerts and RSS feeds to help stay on top of issues and conversations involving our Weymouth, MA law firm and our Massachusetts...
- What Effect Does MetLife v. Glenn Have on Discovery in Denial of Benefit Claims?
Posted July 18, 2008, 5:31 pm by Stephen D. Rosenberg
Apparently none, at least according to the first ruling on this question I have seen out of a court in the First Circuit. In a ruling by a magistrate judge, the United States District Court for the District of Maine has concluded that MetLife v. Glenn does not change the rules in the First Circuit governing the extent to which - if at all - a party is allowed to conduct discovery beyond the administrative record itself in a denied benefits case governed by the arbitrary and capricious standard...
- The Viacom/YouTube Privacy Stipulation
Posted July 18, 2008, 4:26 pm by Lee Gesmer
Viacom v Youtube Stipulation - Upload a Document to Scribd Read this document on Scribd: Viacom v Youtube Stipulation