Bernkopf partner Bob Stetson will be addressing the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in J.C. Cannistraro, LLC v. Columbia Construction Co. during an upcoming Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly panel, “What the SJC’s Prompt Payment decision means for businesses”. The webinar will take place July 30 from 10–11 AM. Bob will… Read More
On June 26, 2026, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued its long-awaited decision in J.C. Cannistraro, LLC v. Columbia Construction Co., a closely watched case addressing the relationship between the Massachusetts Prompt Payment Act (PPA), arbitration, and the Court’s 2024 decision in Business Interiors Floor Covering Bus. Tr. v. Graycor… Read More
Bernkopf partner Bob Stetson will be speaking on an upcoming Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly panel addressing the closely watched J.C. Cannistraro, LLC v. Columbia Construction Co. case, currently before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Bob and Bradley Croft from Ruberto, Israel & Weiner will discuss the issues raised by… Read More
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is again considering how the Prompt Payment Act (PPA), G.L. c. 149, § 29E, should operate during active construction projects in Columbia Construction Co. v. J.C. Cannistraro, LLC, a case the construction bar is watching closely. The appeal follows the SJC’s 2024 decision in Business… Read More
Bernkopf attorneys Christos Koutrobis and Gregoire Ucuz will lead a REBA Construction Law Section webinar analyzing the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) decision in Trustees of Boston University v. Clough, Harbour & Associates LLP, a ruling with significant implications for construction law practitioners. The webinar will take… Read More
Sullivan v. Five Acres Realty Trust, 487 Mass. 64 (2020) The ancient maxim of caveat emptor means “let the buyer beware.” 1 Under this well-known legal doctrine, a seller is not liable to a buyer for defects in a property in the absence of an express warranty or fraud.2 Courts…
READ MOREBy Peter McGlynn Massachusetts General Laws c. 260, § 2B established a statute of repose (“Statute of Repose”) for tort claims arising out of the defective design and construction of real property and bars recovery for an injury occurring more than six years after the earlier of (1) the opening… Read More
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) handed down a decision Sept. 16 confirming that judges hearing summary process eviction cases have the legal and equitable authority to require tenants to make interim use and occupancy payments to landlords while the cases are pending. The SJC’s decision in Davis v. Read More
The First Circuit recently shook up the foreclosure industry with its decision in Thompson v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 915 F.3d 801 (1st Cir. 2019), wherein the panel concluded that Chase, the holder of a mortgage on the Thompsons’ house, could not properly foreclose because the foreclosure notice advised the… Read More
SJC rejects expansion of ‘in for one, in for all’ rule… Read More