Adam Shafran and Jon Friedmann were co-lead class counsel in three federal class action lawsuits against Pepperidge Farm alleging that the company misclassified its distributors as independent contractors. Adam, Jon and their co-counsel represented all Pepperidge Farm distributors in Massachusetts, Illinois and California and a Federal Court in California recently approved the settlement of all […]
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Rudolph Friedmann is pleased to announce that three of its lawyers were selected for inclusion in the 29th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. The publication compiles its listings at the conclusion of a […]
The “at-will” employment relationship is extremely common, offering both the employer and the employee the ability to terminate the relationship on short notice and with no conditions. Despite the flexibility this arrangement offers, there are exceptions to the rule. For example, an employee cannot be fired for reasons that violate public policy (such as discrimination). […]
After a summary process trial before him (without a jury), a Superior Court judge recently held that a commercial landlord could not evict a tenant despite proving the tenant had repeatedly breached provisions in the lease because the breaches were not material. While the facts in making this decision were unique and specific to this […]
Bobby Rudolph recently represented a real estate developer in a civil lawsuit against its former project manager who was accused of stealing nearly $400,000 from his employer by paying fake subcontractor accounts on projects and then converting the funds into his personal bank account. Within days of discovering the theft by the employee, Bobby filed […]
Jon Friedmann recently represented Robert DeVoe as both trustee of R&M Realty Trust and individually in a case tried in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts (Lassman v. DeVoe, No. 18-01192, 2022). The case involved a commercial lease between Nouhad B. Bechara and Mona M. Bechara (“the debtors”) and R&M Realty […]
The old adage “Failing to plan is planning to fail” can easily be applied to owning a business. Business owners need to be prepared for the many contingencies that come up during the lifecycle of their business. Much like a person’s estate plan, proper planning should be taken to ensure as little disruption as possible […]
The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), long a thorn in the side of employees who desire litigation, has now been limited by the expansion of its prominent exception. Before considering the expansion of the FAA’s exception, it is important to understand the FAA. Scope of the Federal Arbitration Act The FAA requires enforcement of arbitration agreements […]
A recent Massachusetts Land Court case examined the validity of a “two-tier” condominium project. This two-tier condominium approach is also referred to as a condominium within a condominium. A two-tier condominium is a condominium comprised of a primary condominium (the “Primary Condominium”), pursuant to which a landowner then creates one or more condominiums within and […]
In Massachusetts, it is not unusual for public construction contracts to include Project Labor Agreement (“PLA”) provisions that mandate a successful bidder only hire union laborers and subcontractors. The purpose behind this is that union labor, though more expensive because of prevailing wage regulations, will agree not to strike or engage in work stoppages, thus […]
