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Police officer’s lawsuit divides town, settles for $1.2 million 

By: Dan McDonald
Published: May 22, 2012

Tags: civil rights violation, emotional distress, Massachusetts, retaliation

At first, attorney Michael Sacco thought he was handling a routine disability claim.

A sole practitioner in Westfield, Mass. who typically represents retirement boards, Sacco quickly found himself knee-deep in a civil rights lawsuit that offered a glimpse into the inner political machinations of a sleepy town and its police department, revealing a sordid mess.

Settlement reached in electric shock suit 

Published: April 25, 2012

Tags: autism, electric-shock treatment, Massachusetts

An out-of-court settlement was reached in a civil lawsuit which dealt with the controversial use of electric-shock treatment at a Canton, Mass. school.

Boston pays $1.4 million to settle suit against officer 

Published: March 15, 2012

Tags: brain damage, Excessive Force, Massachusetts, police officer

The city of Boston has agreed to pay $1.4 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by a man who says a police officer tackled him and placed him in a choke in 2009, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to work.

Hotel and workers settle for $1.3 million over lost tips 

Published: February 14, 2012

Tags: Massachusetts, tips

Following a scheduled fairness hearing on an out-of-court settlement, 150 current and former food and beverage workers at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Pittsfield, Ma. stand to receive checks later this year from a $1.3 million settlement to reimburse them for tips that weren’t passed on to them by their employer.

Accommodating the ADA 

By: David Frank
Published: January 4, 2012

Tags: ADA, attorney fees, Massachusetts

Depending on which side of the aisle a lawyer practices, plaintiffs like John Marshall are seen as either heroic civil rights advocates or crafty manipulators of the legal system.

Former student files harassment suit 

Published: December 19, 2011

Tags: harassment, high school, Massachusetts

A former Stoughton, Mass. High School student has sued the town and school officials, including the former principal, alleging they did nothing to stop the harassment she endured after sending nude photos to a classmate.

City and officer settle backlash suit 

Published: December 12, 2011

Tags: backlash, Massachusetts, politics

The City of Boston will promote a police lieutenant and pay him $45,000 to settle a federal lawsuit that accused Mayor Thomas M. Menino of exacting political payback against him because he had criticized the administration and endorsed Menino’s opponent during the 2009 mayoral race.

Mass. AG files suit against five banks, MERS over robo-signing 

Published: December 2, 2011

Tags: bank, Bank of America, Citi, foreclosures, GMAC, JP Morgan Chase, Massachusetts, unfair and deceptive trade practices, Wells Fargo

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha M. Coakley is suing five national banks and the Mortgage Electronic Registration System for allegedly pursuing illegal foreclosures on properties in Massachusetts as well as deceptive loan servicing.

Mass. legislature passes transgender bill 

By: Matt Yas
Published: November 23, 2011

Tags: Massachusetts, transgender, workplace discrimination

The Massachusetts Senate approved legislation last week adding transgender persons to the state’s anti-discrimination laws, one day after the House passed the bill over the vocal objections of several Republican freshmen.

City and two women settle discrimination case dating to 1990s 

Published: October 14, 2011

Tags: Massachusetts, racial discrimination

The city of Cambridge, Ma. and two women have announced they have settled a workplace- discrimination case that began in the late 1990s, a long-running battle that already has cost the city millions of dollars in a related case.