Massachusetts Libel Law

Abinel Zemon v. Associate Justice Guzman

<center> <img width="300" src="https://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/sites/ca1/files/courthouse.jpg"> </center> This federal case is brought by an aggrieved litigant who asks us to step in and change the way some things turned out for him in state court in Massachusetts. Specifically, appellant Abinel Zenon sought a declaratory judgment labelling as unconstitutional a prote... More...

$0 (05-15-2019 - MA)

SCOTT L. HEAGNEY v. LISA A. WONG; CITY OF FITCHBURG

<center> <img width="300" src="https://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/sites/ca1/files/courthouse.jpg"> <h2> <h2> </h2> </center> Heagney first submitted his application for the position of Fitchburg Police Chief in October 2013. On the résumé accompanying his application, Heagney listed positions that he had held at the Police Department of Fra... More...

$0 (02-12-2019 - MA)

Scott L. Heagney v. Lisa A. Wong; City of Fitchburg

<center> <img width="300" src="https://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/sites/ca1/files/courthouse.jpg"> <h2> <h2> </h2> </center> This case concerns a suit that Scott Heagney, a past applicant for the position of the police chief of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, brought against the City of Fitchburg ("Fitchburg") and its mayor after the mayor decided not<... More...

$0 (02-11-2019 - MA)

James Dever v. David L. Ward

The plaintiff, James Dever, appeals from an order allowing the defendants' special motion to dismiss his amended complaint under the "anti-SLAPP" statute. See G. L. 1 Daniel Rabinovitz; Michaels, Ward & Rabinovitz, LLP; Daniel Michael Joyce; Moors & Cabot Investments, Inc.; and Aaron Foley. 2 c. 231, § 59H, inserted by St. 1994, c. 283, § 1. Although we conclude t... More...

$0 (09-11-2017 - MA)

COMMONWEALTH vs. AARON HERNANDEZ

On July 16, 2012, Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado were murdered in an alleged drive-by shooting in the South End section of Boston. During the investigation of the crimes, Alexander Bradley stated that he witnessed the defendant shoot at five occupants of a 2003 BMW sedan on the date in question. He further stated that on February 13, 2013, while he and the defen... More...

$0 (08-21-2016 - MA)

Doe, SORB No. 380316 v. Sex Offender Registry Board

When Doe was thirty-five years old, he acknowledged the amicus briefs submitted by the Committee for Public Counsel Services and the Massachusetts Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, and by the Youth Advocacy Division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services and the Children's Law Center of Massachusetts. reportedly "twisted" the penis of his six year old nephew through the ... More...

$0 (12-11-2015 - MA)

Donald Thomas Scholz v. Boston Herald, Inc.

In the mid-1970s, Donald Thomas Scholz, a musician, composer, recording engineer, and record producer, founded the rock band "Boston." After many years playing in the band, Brad Delp, who was its lead singer, committed suicide on March 9, 2007. The Boston Herald, Inc., published three stories regarding Brad's suicide, written by columnists Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa, who relied on informati... More...

$0 (11-25-2015 - MA)

Colleen C. Piccone v. John W. Bartels, Jr.

Following an encounter between the parties, Defendant, a local police chief, called Plaintiffs' employer to complain about their behavior during the incident. Plaintiffs filed suit, alleging, inter alia, slander and interference with advantageous business relations. The district court granted summary judgment to Defendant on both counts. We affirm. I. Background Col... More...

$0 (05-12-2015 - MA)

Felipe Vicini Lluberes v. Uncommon Productions, LLC

This case raises issues of First Amendment law. At the center of the dispute is The Price of Sugar, a documentary film released in 2007 by film company Uncommon Productions, LLC, and its principal William M. Haney, III. The film depicts the treatment of Haitian laborers on sugarcane plantations in the Dominican Republic. It refers by name to brothers Felipe and Juan Vicini Lluberes, senior executi... More...

$0 (12-02-2011 - MA)

Cynosure, Inc. v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company and St. Paul Guardian Insurance Company

This is a declaratory judgment action to determine coverage under a commercial policy insuring against liability for injury caused by advertising. The plaintiff Cynosure, Inc., is the defendant in an underlying civil action charging it with responsibility for sending commercial fax messages "without consent from the recipientsâ€ in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C.... More...

$0 (05-12-2011 - MA)

Cynosure, Inc. v. St. Paul Fire and Insurance Company

This is a declaratory judgment action to determine coverage under a commercial policy insuring against liability for injury caused by advertising. The plaintiff Cynosure, Inc., is the defendant in an underlying civil action charging it with responsibility for sending commercial fax messages "without consent from the recipientsâ€ in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C.... More...

$0 (05-12-2011 - MA)

Alan S. Noonan v. Staples, Inc.

Alan S. Noonan was fired from his job as a salesman at Staples, Inc. for allegedly padding expense reports. A Staples executive then sent a mass e-mail to about 1,500 employees informing them that Noonan had been fired for violating the company's travel and expense policy. Staples also denied Noonan his severance benefits and refused to allow him to exercise his stock options, claiming that, under... More...

$0 (08-21-2008 - MA)

DANIEL MCCARTHY v. CITY OF NEWBURYPORT; THOMAS CAPPELLUZZO; ALAN MAGUIRE; THOMAS H. HOWARD; DAVID FOLEY; DAVID C. KNIGHT; LISA MEAD; ALAN P. LAVENDER

Daniel McCarthy, a Newburyport, Massachusetts police officer, brought this action against the former and current chiefs of police, Thomas Cappelluzzo and Thomas H. Howard; fellow police officers Alan Maguire, David Foley and David Knight; former mayors of Newburyport Lisa Mead and Alan Lavender; and the City of Newburyport. McCarthy alleged claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of his F... More...

$0 (11-03-2007 - MA)

<a href="http://weblinks.westlaw.com/Search/default.wl?RP=%2FWelcome%2FFrameless%2FSearch%2Ewl&n=4&ACTION=SEARCH&bhcp=1&bQlocfnd=True&CFID=0&DB=MA%2DORSLIP&Method=TNC&query=to%28allsct+allsctrs+allsctoj%29+&RLT=CLID%5FQRYRLT39387291&RLTDB=CLID%5FDB39387291&sp=MassOF%2D1001&ssl=n&strRecreate=no&sv=Split&RS=WEBL7.01&VR=2.0&SPa=MassOF-1001" target="_new">The Cadle Company v. Jan R. Schlichtmann, et al.</a>

We examine in this case the extent to which G.L. c. 231, § 59H, popularly known as the "anti-SLAPP" [FN2] statute, effectively shields one party in an ongoing legal dispute from liability for the publication of allegedly defamatory statements concerning the opposing party. The Cadle Company (Cadle) filed a multi-count complaint in the Superior court seeking damages and declaratory and injuncti... More...

$0 (01-29-2007 - MA)

<a href="http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/getopn.pl?OPINION=05-1230.01A" target="_new">Marc E. Mandel v. The Boston Phoenix, Inc., et al.</a>

The oenologist's creed teaches that we should drink no wine before its time. Much the same principle applies to summary judgment; it is a deliciously helpful device if properly timed, but one that can leave a sour taste if brought to bear on an insufficiently fermented record. This appeal, which follows on the heels of a substantial verdict in a defamation suit, is a paradigmatic example ... More...

$0 (08-05-2006 - MA)

<a href="http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/getopn.pl?OPINION=04-1449.01A" target="_new">Amrak Productions, et al. v. Morton, et al.</a>

Plaintiffs-appellants James Albright, a former bodyguard and lover of Madonna, and his corporate agent, Amrak Productions, Inc. ("Amrak"), appeal from the dismissal of their defamation, invasion of privacy, and other state claims stemming from the publication of a tell-all book, Madonna. In a nutshell, defendants-appellees author and publishers allegedly portrayed Albright as a homosexual by mi... More...

$0 (06-08-2005 - MA)

<a href="http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/getopn.pl?OPINION=01-2342.01A" target="_new">Open Software Foundation, Inc. and Hewlett Packard Company v. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Co.</a>

Plaintiffs Open Software Foundation (OSF) and Hewlett-Packard (HP) brought this diversity action against USF&G, their general commercial liability insurer, claiming that USF&G had a duty to defend a lawsuit filed against them by Addamax Corporation, a software manufacturer. (1) After OSF decided not to bundle Addamax security software into its UNIX-based operating system, Addamax sued OSF in 1989,... More...

$0 (10-04-2002 - MA)

<a href="http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/getopn.pl?OPINION=01-1648.01A" target="_new">John J. Riley, Jr. v. Jonathan Harr, Random House, Inc., et al.</a>

Objecting to his portrayal in Jonathan Harr's best-selling book A Civil Action, an account of toxic tort litigation over contaminated well water in Woburn, Massachusetts, that allegedly caused the death of several children, John J. Riley, Jr., sued Harr and his publisher for defamation and related torts. He was joined in that lawsuit by his wife, Diane W. Riley. The district court granted summary ... More...

$0 (06-11-2002 - MA)