The B&B Docket Blog:

The “American Rule” has long disallowed a prevailing party in litigation from recovering its attorneys’ fees from the losing party, absent unusual circumstances. The Supreme Judicial Court held in the recent case of Tocci v. Tocci that the American Rule stands as firmly as ever, denying a closely held corporation from recovering the attorneys’ fees that it had expended in…

Partner Todd BennettPartner Craig LeveyOn July 15, 2022, a judge sitting in Suffolk Superior Court ruled that Bennett & Belfort’s client is entitled to a jury trial on all four counts of the Complaint for disability discrimination, gender identity discrimination, retaliation, and interference, against Plaintiff’s former employer and supervisor, Massachusetts General Hospital and Giuliana Arcovio.  Plaintiff is represented by Craig…

A federal jury in Massachusetts has found a construction company and its CEO liable in the gross amount of $650,000 after they reported an injured employee to immigration authorities in retaliation for his application for workers’ compensation benefits. In 2017, José Martin Paz Flores, an employee of Tara Construction, Inc. fell off a ladder while working and broke his leg.…

Two new Supreme Court decisions will make it easier for some employees to keep their cases in court, and out of arbitration. In Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon, issued on June 6, 2022, the high court ruled that ramp supervisors working for Southwest Airlines are “engage in foreign or interstate commerce” and thus are exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act…

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is poised to decide whether, and to what extent, long-haul trucking companies must pay drivers for time spent in sleeper berths while the trucks are on the road. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) generally requires that these workers be paid minimum wage for “working time.” Whether “working time” includes drivers’ time…

B&B Partner David E. Belfort was recently invited by “The Boston Globe” (‘Globe’) to comment on a case involving a claim of reverse race discrimination where a white applicant was asked in her job interview about the impact of “white privilege” on her ability to perform the job. In the March 9, 2022 issue of The Globe, Attorney Belfort was…

B&B Attorney Eric LeBlanc was quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s February 25, 2022 edition concerning the recent decision in Chapoteau, et al. v. Bella Sante, Inc., et al.  At issue in this case was whether massage therapists at a day spa were entitled to time-and-a-half pay on Sundays pursuant to Chapter 136, § 6, of the Massachusetts “Blue Laws,” which…

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Reuter v. City of Methuen recently issued a decision ruling that in wage violation cases, subject to the Wage Act, G.L.c. 149, triple damages are triggered when an employer fails to pay a fired employee earned wages on the day of termination. Beth Reuter, an employee of the City of Methuen, was owed $8,952.15…