CORDY, J. Nicholas C. Adams appeals from a judgment of divorce from his wife, Nancy W. Adams, issued by a Probate and Family Court judge. The case has been vigorously litigated, and few, if any, issues stand unchallenged on appeal. The nucleus of the husband's appeal, however, is that the judge erred in assigning the present value of the husband's interest in a partnership as defined by G.L. c. 108A, 6, to the divisible marital estate. We conclude that a judge, acting pursuant to his...
SPINA, J. In the present case, here on direct appellate review, we consider whether the tort of private nuisance falls within the purview of the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act (Act), G. L. c. 258, and, if so, whether such a claim brought by John N. Morrissey, on behalf of the JNM 2006 Trust, against, among others, the Executive Office of Transportation and Public Works (Commonwealth) 3 is barred by the exceptions to the waiver of sovereign immunity set forth in G. L. c. 258, 10 ( b ) and ( e...
GANTS, J. On the evening of March 29, 2006, the defendant, a special agent with the office of export enforcement of the United States Department of Commerce, was driving on Congress Street in Boston on his way home from work. Viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, the evidence at trial showed that, after the defendant took a right turn onto Dorchester Avenue, the victim rode up to the defendant's passenger side window on his motorcycle to complain that the defendant had nearly...
BOTSFORD, J. The plaintiff, Kim Pelletier, worked as a laborer for the highway department of the town of Somerset (town) from 1984 to 2000. In 2003, after first filing a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), the plaintiff commenced an action in the Superior Court against the town and the highway department seeking damages for discriminating against her on the basis of gender and sexual orientation, for subjecting her to sexual harassment and a hostile work...
CORDY, J. On June 28, 2007, a grand jury indicted the defendants, two Boston College students, Daniel Carr and John Sherman, on charges that they trafficked in cocaine over fourteen grams, possessed psilocybin with intent to distribute, and possessed marijuana with intent to distribute, following discovery of the illegal drugs in their campus dormitory room. On December 17, 2007, Carr filed a motion to suppress the drugs and other evidence seized as a result of a warrantless search. Sherman...
IRELAND, J. We transferred these cases from the Appeals Court to determine whether, under G.L. c. 32, 4(1)( p ), retired teachers who are members of the Commonwealth's teachers' retirement system (members) are eligible to purchase creditable service toward retirement (credit or service credit) for their nonpublic school work with special needs students at institutions funded, in whole or part, by the Commonwealth, for which they have earned Social Security benefits. Although G.L. c. 32,...
