News and Events
February 6: Jeanne S. McKnight, head of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group, will present an informational session to the Needham Heights Neighborhood Association on the topics of Affordable Housing and Comprehensive Permits under General Laws Chapter 40B.
January 26: Attorney Joel B. Bard will present a seminar to the Town of Scituate Planning Board on "Roles and Responsibilities of Planning and Zoning Boards." This event has been arranged by the Citizen Planner Training Collaborative at the request of the Town. This particular course provides an overview of the functions of planning and zoning boards, with emphasis on their similarities and differences, and summarizes the laws, procedures, and sources of information that constitute the main tools of planning and zoning.
More information about CPTC and its programs can be found online at http://www.umass.edu/masscptc/about.htm
January 26: Lauren F. Goldberg, will once again be a faculty member at the annual Winter Conference of the Massachusetts Town and City Clerks, to be held this year on January 25-27 at The Sturbridge Host Hotel & Conference Center. Attorney Goldberg will be speaking on two separate topics. The first is “Charter Adoption & Amendment,” and her presentation will focus on both perennial issues of procedure and substance and those issues that are currently of particular interest.
In addition, Attorney Goldberg will present a “Primer on All Things CPA,” that is, she will address numerous basic issues relating to the Community Preservation Act. These will include the manner of local acceptance and rescission of the Act, exemptions and options, the sometimes misunderstood role of the Community Preservation Committee, and sources and uses of the appropriations that may be made for expenditures under the Act.
For additional information, see:
http://www.newenglandclerks.org/filestorage/121/155/2012_WinterConf.pdf
January 25: Attorney Patricia A. Cantor, co-chair of our Land Use Practice Group, will be a faculty member for a third time at the MCLE seminar entitled “Zoning Practice: MCLE BasicsPlus!” to be held via webcast and on-site at the MCLE Conference Center, 10 Winter Place, Boston, from 9 AM until 5 PM. At this comprehensive seminar, Attorney Cantor will be summarizing significant land use cases decided by the Supreme Judicial Court and Appeals Court in 2011. Members of the faculty also will discuss in detail nonconforming uses and structures, and special permits and variances. Seminar attendees can benefit from faculty members’ extensive experience working with municipalities and litigating land use cases in the Land Court.
October and November:
In October and November, four Kopelman and Paige, P.C. attorneys led six of the Citizen Planner Training Collaborative's Fall 2011 Workshops. As its name suggests, CPTC is a collaboration among the University of Massachusetts, planning organizations, and Regional Planning Authorities that provides a variety of training modules. These modules give practical and legal guidance to local planning and zoning boards and other municipal boards and officers with roles in the land use permitting process. These popular courses have been providing valuable training and support to the newly appointed and veteran individuals alike for many years and are offered during the Spring and Fall of each year. This year's Fall sessions prominently featured Kopelman and Paige, P.C. attorneys. More information about CPTC and its programs can be found online at http://www.umass.edu/masscptc/about.html
October 12 -
David J. Doneski led a workshop on Special Permits & Variances,
held at the office of the Martha's Vineyard Commission, 33 New York
Avenue, Oak Bluffs. MIIA credit* was available for this workshop,
which included discussion of the differences between Special Permits
and Variances, as well as key timelines to follow in the decision-making
process.
October 13
- Joel B. Bard presented the CPTC module entitled Introduction
to Subdivision Control Law and ANR, held at the Pioneer Valley Planning
Commission office, 60 Congress Street, 2nd Floor, Springfield. Attorney
Bard covered the purposes of the law, responsibilities of boards under
the law, adoption of subdivision regulations, and other related legal
and procedural issues.
October
27 - Patricia A. Cantor provided training on the Roles and Responsibilities
of Planning & Zoning Boards (Part 2) at 7 P.M. at Southeast Regional
Planning & Economic Development District, 88 Broadway, Taunton.
Workshop topics included Open Meeting, Public Records, and Conflict
of Interest Laws, building on basic concepts outlined in Part 1 of
this two-part series.
November, 2011 - Elizabeth A. ("Betsy") Lane led the following three workshops:
November 1 - Roles & Responsibilities of Planning and Zoning Boards (Part 1): 7 P.M. at Hingham Town Hall, 210 Central Street, Hingham. This was a Level 1 core course program designed to provide the support new appointees could use in learning their roles as local officials. Attorney Lane explained the functions of planning and zoning boards, with emphasis on their similarities and differences, and summarized the laws, procedures, and sources of information that constitute the main tools of planning and zoning.
November 2 - Writing Reasonable and Defensible Decisions: 7 P.M. at the office of Old Colony Planning Council, 70 School Street, Brockton. Attorney Lane explained the key points of writing clear and defensible decisions and conditions, focusing on the necessary content of land use permit decisions from a legal and practical perspective. This session highlighted the "do's and don'ts" of decision writing in understandable terms. MIIA credit* was available for this workshop.
November 10 - How to Hold a Perfect Public Hearing: 7 P.M. was held at the office of the Southeast Regional Planning & Economic Development District, 88 Broadway, Taunton. This CPTC module used a video presentation that Attorney Lane used to guide participants in understanding how to meet the legal requirements for a public hearing, including the requirements added by recent amendments to the Open Meeting Law, as well as tips for effective preparation for and conduct of a hearing, methods to maintain hearing decorum, and tips for drafting decisions.
*Individuals who attended MIIA credit workshops could earn credit for their towns under the MIIA Rewards Program for public officials' liability insurance.
October 26: Attorney Lauren F. Goldberg was the featured speaker at the 2011 Fall Meeting of the Tri-County Clerks Association, where she gave a presentation on recent developments under the recently revised Open Meeting Law. The Association meeting, which included clerks from Plymouth, Bristol, and Norfolk counties, took place at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at the Fireside Grille, 30 Bedford Street, Middleboro, MA.
October: We are pleased to welcome the Towns of Becket and Sheffield in Berkshire County to our family of communities. Currently representing twelve communities in Berkshire County as Town Counsel and others as Special Counsel, we look forward to providing Becket and Sheffield with the same personalized service and level of expertise that we provide to all of our clients located throughout the Commonwealth. We currently represent cities and towns in every one of the 14 counties in the Commonwealth.
September 14: Jay Tehan and Kay Doyle secured an important victory from the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Coscia v. Town of Pembroke. The Court of Appeals reversed a decision by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The Appeals Court ruled that individual Pembroke police officers did not violate a young man's right to due process under the U.S. Constitution. The young man had expressed suicidal thoughts while he was in custody following a single car crash. The police kept him safe while he was in custody. The day after he was released from custody, the young man committed suicide. His family sued, claiming the police should have sought medical attention for him while he was in custody and the failure to do so resulted in his suicide after his release. The Court determined that the police officers could not be held responsible for actions taken when the young man was no longer in their custody, unless the young man had a special relationship with the police or the police had placed him in a position of greater danger, and therefore did not violate the young man's right to due process. The young man's family has declared an intent to file a petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court.
June 28: Attorney John J. Goldrosen of our firm was a faculty member at the MCLE seminar entitled “Solving Waterfront Property Issues” held at the MCLE Conference Center, 10 Winter Place, Boston. For more information about this seminar, see www.mcle.org.
June 28: Lauren Goldberg was a speaker at the MCLE seminar entitled “Freedom of Information & Public Records Law” held at 10 Winter Place, Boston. Attorney Goldberg presented on the topic of responses to public records requests as part of a three-person panel on the Public Records Law. For more information on this seminar, see www.mcle.org.
June 16: Attorney Michele E. Randazzo of our firm was a conference co-chair of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s 5th Annual Public Law Conference on June 16. For more information about this seminar, see http://www.massbar.org/cle/cle-programs?k=2391&kp=2364.
June 11: Attorney Lauren F. Goldberg was a presenter at the Massachusetts Municipal Association Leadership Conference for Selectmen, in Sutton, MA. She addressed a breakout session concerning major changes to the Conflict of Interest Law and the Public Records Law.
June 10: Attorney Ilana M. Quirk was a speaker at the annual conference of the Massachusetts Association of Planning Directors, where she presented a review of recent court decisions of relevance and interest to planners. This conference was held at the Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites in New Bedford, MA. For further information, see: www.apa-ma.org/events/mapd-conference.
June 9: Attorney Lauren F. Goldberg was a presenter at the City and Town Clerks' Associations' Summer Conference in Falmouth, MA. In the morning, Attorney Goldberg addressed the topic of Parliamentary Procedure and provided an update on the Open Meeting Law. In the afternoon, she made a presentation on the Public Records Law.
June 8: Kay Doyle and Jay Tehan secured a noteworthy victory for the Town of Amesbury on June 8, 2011 when the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in a difficult civil rights case. The plaintiff alleged that the Town of Amesbury had violated his right to free speech, assembly and petition for redress of grievances under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and parallel provisions under the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights after banning him from the Amesbury Public Library for one year and restricting his access to other town facilities after staff made numerous complaints that the plaintiff had engaged in sexual harassment and other misconduct.
June 2011: Attorney David J. Doneski's article entitled "Public Contracting - Lease or Building Construction? The Applicability of Construction Bidding Statutes to Procurement of Finished Building Space" has been published in the Massachusetts Law Review, Volume 93, No. 4. Click here to view article. It is a case comment on Brasi Development Corp. v. Attorney General, 456 Mass. 684 (2010).
May 25: John Giorgio was a panelist at the “Ocean Outfall Symposium: Exploring Ocean Outfalls as a Wastewater Management Alternative for Cape Cod”. This was held at the Cape Cod & Islands Realtors Conference Center, 22 Mid-Tech Drive, Yarmouth. Attorney Giorgio presented a discussion on the topic of “Legal Considerations of Siting a New Ocean Outfall on Cape Cod” beginning at 2:00 p.m. For more information on this Symposium visit: www.waquoitbayreserve.org.
March 19: Patricia Cantor, co-chair of the Firm’s Land Use Group, presented the “Introduction to Zoning” seminar at the 10th Annual Conference of the Citizen Planner Training Collaborative, sponsored by UMass Extension, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, and several planning organizations. The day-long Conference, entitled “Advanced Tools and Techniques for Planning and Zoning,” took place at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester and attracted over three hundred participants, including planning and zoning board members, planners, building inspectors and other local officials. Attorney Cantor’s seminar was designated as one of the core seminars in the conference, making participants eligible to receive continuing education credit for attendance.
February 28: Janet Hetherwick Pumphrey will be a speaker at the MCLE seminar entitled “Habeas Corpus in the Federal Courts” to be held at 10 Winter Place, Boston, from 1:30-5:30pm. Attorney Pumphrey will be presenting on the topic of “subject matter jurisdiction and cognizable claims.” For more information on this seminar, see www.mcle.org
January 25: Patricia A. Cantor is on the faculty for the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) full-day seminar entitled “Zoning Practice: Basics Plus!” to be held at 10 Winter Place, Boston. As one of a panel of experienced senior land use practitioners, Attorney Cantor will present “Recent Developments in Zoning Law” in which she will survey and comment on the important decisions of the Appeals Court and Supreme Judicial Court during 2010. While MCLE provides training for attorneys, paralegals and law students, non-lawyers are also welcome to register for this program. For more information on this seminar, see www.mcle.org.
January 24: Brian Winner obtained a significant victory for the Towns of Braintree and Plymouth in a matter that will likely have statewide significance. In a precedent setting decision, the Board of Electricians' Appeals, on January 24, 2011, ruled that Verizon New England, Inc.'s so-called "FiOS" voice, video and data services are subject to the Massachusetts Electrical Code. In approximately 2005 Verizon New England, Inc. introduced its FiOS service in Massachusetts. Since then Verizon has extended its FiOS network to an increasing number of communities. During that time Verizon contractors have installed thousands of miles of fiber optic cable and conduit to and into numerous homes and businesses throughout the Commonwealth. Verizon, however, took the position that its work within these homes and businesses was exempt from local oversight and that these installations, therefore, do not require any local permitting or inspections. Although many communities disputed that claim, no state agency or court had ruled definitively on the issue until now. In 2010, inspectors in Plymouth and Braintree ordered Verizon and its installation contractors to obtain an electrical permit and to cease installations unless and until permits had been obtained. Verizon appealed those orders to the Board Electricians' Appeals. Following an extensive hearing on December 13, 2010 at which Attorney Winner represented Braintree and Plymouth, the Board affirmed the inspectors' orders and ruled that Verizon's FiOS installations indeed were subject to local supervision.
October 4, 2010: Gregg J. Corbo appeared before the
September 16, 2010: Jonathan Silverstein obtained a significant victory in the Supreme Judicial Court on behalf of the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Dennis. At issue was whether the grant of a mortgage constituted a “conveyance” or “transfer” of land. The case concerned a parcel of land owned by the Town of Dennis. Pursuant to a Town Meeting Vote, the Board of Selectmen deeded the land to the Dennis Housing Authority for nominal consideration of one dollar for the construction of affordable housing. In the deed to the Housing Authority, the Town included a reverter clause that prohibited a conveyance or transfer of the land without the consent of the Board. When the Housing Authority secured a mortgage on the land without the Board's consent, the Town invoked the reverter clause and revested title to itself. The plaintiff, Faneuil Investors Group, Limited Partnership, the assignee of the Authority's mortgage, challenged the Town’s action in the Land Court, claiming that the granting of a mortgage was not a conveyance that triggered the reverter clause. Kopelman and Paige, P.C. obtained a victory for the Town, first in the Land Court, then in the Appeals Court, and finally in the Supreme Judicial Court, which held that the mortgage did constitute a conveyance, and that the Town lawfully exercised its right of reverter.
August 13, 2010: Gregg J. Corbo gave a presentation on changes to the Open Meeting Law, the Public Records Law and the Identity Theft Law at the 55th
June 29, 2010: Brian Riley was on the faculty for a seminar on Freedom of Information and Public Records Law. Offered as part of the Massachusetts Bar Association Continuing Legal Education program (MCLE), participants learned what type of information is exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Law; when officials can close an otherwise public meeting; the pitfalls of electronic communication with respect to right-to-know laws, and more
June 2, 2010: Brian was a member of a panel discussion on the implementation of the new Open Meeting Law put on by the Massachusetts Bar Association. Topics included the substantive changes in the OML and the Attorney General's new enforcement powers and a discussion of the interplay between the OML and Public Records Law.
May 17, 2010: New All Town Memorandum detailing Amendments to the Family and Medical Leave Act sent to all K&P clients. This analysis was written by Michelle Randazzo of our Labor and Employment Group
May 6, 2010: Ilana Quirk, co-chair of K&P's Land Use practice, presented a two hour seminar on the interrelationship of the State Building Code with zoning, subdivision control and other statutory requirements, with an emphasis on permitting and enforcement issues. This seminar was presented to the South Eastern Massachusetts Building Officials Association.
Attorneys Kay Doyle and Jay Tehan obtained a significant victory for the Town of
April 6, 2010:
April 2010: Attorney Kay Doyle gave a presentation to the Massachusetts Library Association on “Constitutional Considerations when Dealing with Disruptive Patrons” in which she discussed common situations faced by library staff and patrons and provided a response framework that preserves the rights of library patrons under the U.S. Constitution and Massachusetts Declaration of Rights while protecting library staff and patrons from disruptions to library services.
It was very well received, and the same group of librarians that were part of this presentation submitted a proposal to deliver a similar program to the National Convention in Philadelphia.
March 20, 2010: Attorney Elizabeth A. Lane presented a seminar entitled “Writing Reasonable and Defensible Decisions” at the Ninth Annual Conference of the Citizen Planner Training Collaborative. A frequent speaker on this and other zoning, planning and land use subjects, Attorney Lane explained longstanding and recent court decisions that affect the ability of permit decisions to withstand legal challenge, and included tips to assist boards in streamlining their procedures, not only for zoning decisions, but for all types of permit applications. The keynote speaker for this day-long event was Andre Leroux, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance. The Conference was held at the Hogan Conference Center, Holy Cross College, Worcester, MA.
Assessment cases involving mobile home parks are rare, and there is little precedent for municipal officials to follow. Now, in the case CJD Real Estate Limited Partnership v. Board of Assessors of the Town of Chelmsford, et al., (Appellate Tax Board Nos. F298316 & F304236) the Appellate Tax Board (“ATB”) has rejected a mobile home park’s claim that its property was worth $3,880,500, and valued it at $10,000,000 and $9,938,300 for fiscal years 2008 and 2009 respectively. The subject property consisted of approximately 37.75 acres, improved with roads, 254 site pads, and other infrastructure necessary for the operation of a manufactured home community. The park owner, CJD, claimed that it was entitled to the benefit of the exemption from taxation enjoyed by the individual mobile home owners. At trial, the Town presented facts and law that clearly demonstrated CJD’s position on its supposed entitlement to an exemption was meritless.
The Town’s case proved the value of the Appellant’s property by using the income approach to valuation. This was consistent with CJD’s witnesses’ testimony that CJD derives income from the rental of site pads on which manufactured homes are parked. The ATB concluded that the use of the income approach to valuation was proper in assessing the park, and consistent with the manner in which mobile home park owners themselves value such properties for investment purposes.
January 22, 2010: We were delighted to see so many clients and friends at the MMA Annual Meeting last week and hope you came away with some good information and new insights. It was a pleasure to chat with many of you at the Member Associations Breakfast sponsored by our firm - we are honored to support the MMA in this way each year. We look forward to doing it all again in 2011!
Attorneys Kay Doyle and Joel Bard received an Appeals Court affirmation of their victory on behalf of the Town of Pembroke in Plymouth Superior Court in Town of Pembroke v. Foundation for Humanity. The Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld a Superior Court judgment in favor of the Town, finding that the six-year statute of limitations in the state Zoning Act did not bar the Town from enforcing its Zoning Bylaws prohibiting multi-family dwellings where the property owner received building permits for single-family dwelling units on the same property. The case establishes that inaccurate descriptions in building permit applications cannot later be used to bar zoning enforcement. The Appeals Court also ruled that a property owner may not collaterally attack the substance of a cease and desist order in Court after failing to file the proper administrative appeal from the cease and desist order.
January 14, 2010: Attorneys Gregg J. Corbo and Jeffrey T. Blake have obtained a landmark victory before the Supreme Judicial Court, limiting the authority of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to impose restrictions on municipal water suppliers. Click here to read the decision.
Attorney George Pucci, a senior litigator in our Land Use Group, has obtained a major victory for the Town of Weston and the Weston Zoning Board of Appeals to prevent construction of a massive 362-unit luxury housing development in a single-family residential district, in violation of the Town’s Zoning Bylaws. Attorneys for the plaintiff, Regis College, argued that the project was exempt from applicable zoning regulations under the guise that the project qualified as an educational facility for senior residents subject to protection under the Dover Amendment of the Massachusetts Zoning Act. In a case which the plaintiff’s attorneys aggressively litigated against the Town in the Massachusetts Land Court for more than four years, with zero willingness to compromise on the size and scope of the project in any way, Justice Sands granted the Town’s motion for summary judgment on the Dover use issue, ruling that the proposal does not qualify for Dover Amendment protection because the alleged educational component of the project is not its predominant use. As is consistent with the Town’s position from the outset of the litigation, Justice Sands found that the residential and financial components of the project “dwarf” any educational components, and that while the concept of a senior residential facility on campus grounds may be commendable, he hoped that Regis would “develop a facility that comports with the zoning requirements of Weston while still meeting and exceeding the needs of aging residents.” The firm is proud to have assisted the Town in protecting the integrity of its local Zoning Bylaws, in order to preserve the health, safety, and general welfare of its residents.
Attorneys Jeffrey Blake and Megan Bayer recently obtained a favorable decision in their defense of the City of Woburn in the case of Michael P. O’Meara, Trustee of the Michael P. O’Meara Revocable Trust v. City of Woburn, Middlesex Superior Court C.A. No. 06-0451. This matter was an action brought by the plaintiff claiming that the City sewer servicing his commercial building was negligently maintained. As a result of this alleged negligent maintenance, there was a sewer backup in the building which he alleged caused him approximately $96,000 in damages (actual damage plus lost rent). After the close of the plaintiff’s case, the City moved for judgment as a matter of law, arguing that the plaintiff failed to meet his burden of proof. The judge conducting the trial took a short recess, returned, and issued a judgment in favor of the City
Attorney Vicki S. Marsh represented the Town of Plymouth in its acquisition of the Crawley Woodlands Preserve property off Billington Street from the Crawley family. This property is a beautiful 70-acre site designated a “priority habitat” by the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program. This acquisition protects the property for open space and public water supply purposes as well as protecting its wildlife. This property was acquired from a grant from the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, a grant from the Department of Fish and Game, from Challenge Grant funds and Community Preservation funds. Kopelman and Paige, P.C., represented the Town in all aspects of negotiations with the Seller and the various agencies involved including the review of the Conservation Restriction, the recording of the deeds and conservation restriction, and the issuance of the title certification on the property.
For further information, please click here to see.
One of the ways cities and towns have increased their inventories of affordable housing is through the transfer of municipally owned property, usually tax title parcels, to the housing authority or a non-profit like Habitat for Humanity. Usually, these transfers are for nominal consideration in return for the eventual grant of an affordable housing restriction from the new homeowner to the city or town. To make sure that the property will be used for affordable housing in accordance with the wishes of the municipality, our deeds include the right of the municipality to take the property back (a right of reverter) if the property is not conveyed to an affordable buyer within a certain period of time, typically three years from the date of the deed.
We were certainly pleased that this language was approved by the Appeals Court in the recent decision in Faneuil Investors Group LP v. Board of Selectmen of Dennis, 75 Mass. App. Ct. 260 (2009). Faneuil Investors Group filed an action in the Land Court to reinstate the mortgage it held on property once owned by the Dennis Housing Authority. This property had reverted to the Town after the violation of a restriction in the deed from the Town to the Housing Authority. The particular provision of the deed from the Town reserved the right in the Town to enter the property and revest title to it if the Housing Authority ceased to exist or if the property was conveyed or transferred without the written consent of the Board of Selectmen. The Town exercised its right of reverter on the grounds that the Housing Authority had granted a mortgage to Citizens Bank without obtaining the written consent of the Board of Selectmen. (Faneuil purchased the note from Citizens Bank.) Faneuil argued that the mortgage was not a conveyance that would trigger the right of reverter, and further, even if the mortgage did trigger the reverter, the Board of Selectmen had no authority from Town Meeting to include a reverter provision in its deed. In its decision, the Appeals Court recited the many Massachusetts cases that have held that mortgages are conveyances of title and refused to treat the mortgage as a security interest. The Court further found that the provisions included in the deed were well within the authority given to the Board by Town Meeting and established a “reasonable mechanism by which the Board can execute the intent of the vote”, i.e., the continued use of the property for affordable housing.
June 4, 2009: Leonard Kopelman delivered the commencement address to the graduates of Harvard University's School of Continuing Education at Harvard's 358th Commencement in Cambridge, MA.
Attorney Mary L. Giorgio obtained a rare legal decision construing the statute of limitations of the so-called "vicious dog statute", G.L. c. 140, §157. The Orleans District Court allowed the Town of Wellfleet Board of Selectmen's Motion to Dismiss a complaint brought under that statute on the basis that it was untimely filed. Following is a brief case summary. (LUCINDA GOLDMAN v. BOARD OF SELECTMEN OF THE TOWN OF WELLFLEET)
After a public hearing on a complaint concerning an alleged vicious dog, the Board of Selectmen ordered the dog banished from the Town. The dog owner, who with her counsel, attended the hearing, subsequently petitioned the Orleans District Court to review and reverse the decision pursuant to G.L. c. 140, §157. That statute requires that such a petition be filed "within ten days after such order." The order was sent by mail to petitioner's permanent residence and hand delivered to petitioner's summer house in Wellfleet on a Wednesday. The tenth day, from the date the order was voted, fell on the second Friday after the vote. The tenth day, after the order was sent, fell on the second Saturday after the order was sent. Town argued the statute required, at the latest, that the complaint for review be filed on the next business day after the second Saturday, which would be the following Monday. The complaint was not filed until Tuesday, one day late, and, consequently, the Town argued that the complaint should be dismissed as the Court had no jurisdiction to hear the complaint on the basis that it was untimely filed.
The District Court agreed, finding that the filing period commenced upon either the date the Selectmen voted the banishment order or, at the latest, the date it was sent to the dog owner, not the date of receipt of the order. The Court also found that the intermediate weekend days within the ten-day period should not be excluded from the computation of the ten-day filing period. Accordingly, the Court found that the complaint was late filed and dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction.
April 2009: Attorney Janet Hetherwick Pumphrey’s book review of “Thinking Like a Writer: A Lawyer’s Guide to Effective Writing and Editing” has been published in the Massachusetts Law Review. Click here to view article.
April 2009: Attorney Joyce Frank's article entitled "Indemnification
Under the Massachusetts Tort Claim Act: Government As Insurer"
has been published in the Massachusetts Law Review, Case Comment.
Click here to view
article
March 27, 2009: Charter Communications filed for bankruptcy, as expected. We have attached a most typically asked question and answer summary for your review. Please click here.
January 2009: Len Kopelman Named Super Lawyer:
For the 4th year in a row, Leonard Kopelman, founder and president of our firm, has been selected as a Massachusetts "Super Lawyer" by Law & Politics and Boston Magazine. As a specialist in municipal law, Len was recommended by his peers as one of the top attorneys in the State practicing in this area of law. Nominations to be included in this list of exceptional lawyers are received from thousands of attorneys state-wide and are independently vetted by a panel of peers based on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. The objective of the list, according to the magazine, is "to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys."
December 10, 2008: In a landmark decision, the Norfolk Superior Court (Brady, J.), ruled that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) does not have the authority to impose conditions upon public water suppliers’ use of water under registration statements issued in accordance with the Water Management Act. Under the Water Management Act, public water suppliers who withdrew more than 100,000 gallons of water per day prior to passage of the Act were permitted to register those withdrawals as a means of grandfathering such uses. The Act provides that public water suppliers could continue such registered withdrawals as long as they applied for renewal every ten years. Registration statements came up for renewal in 2007, and as part of the process, DEP imposed conditions limiting the amount of water that could be used for residential purposes. Thirteen communities filed complaints in the Superior Court seeking to have the conditions stricken from the renewed registrations. The Superior Court consolidated the cases and ruled that the clear legislative intent of the Water Management Act was to grandfather existing withdrawals and no provision of the Act expressly permitted DEP to impose conditions on registered withdrawals. Accordingly, the Court issued a judgment requiring DEP to accept all registration renewal applications without condition. Although DEP is likely to appeal, at this juncture, public water suppliers who received registration renewals in 2007 are not required to adhere to those conditions. Kopelman and Paige, P.C. represented five of the 13 plaintiffs – Harwich, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Millis, North Reading, and Brockton.
October 2008: Attorney Richard T. Holland's article entitled "'True' Breaches of Contract" has been published in the Massachusetts Law Review, Volume 91, No. 3. Click here to view article.
Our labor and employment group successfully overturned an arbitration decision in Superior court for a K&P client. Since there is a strong public policy in Massachusetts favoring arbitration, judicial review and reversal is available only in very limited circumstances. In this matter, however, the court held that the arbitrator’s retroactive award of sick leave and sick leave buyback offended public policy, since the result would have been a windfall for employees, by potentially crediting them with hundreds of sick days, and would have presented a heavy financial burden on the town.