Justia Massachusetts Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

In 2001, Plaintiff, a special education student at a public elementary school in the town of Duxbury, fell and sustained injuries while unsupervised at school. Plaintiff presented a claim to the town based on her injuries. The Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund, an association that settles unpaid claims covered by an insurance policy issued by an insurer that later becomes insolvent, made no offer to settle Plaintiff's claim despite its obligation to defend the town. Plaintiff subsequently commenced a consumer action against the insolvency fund. The superior court allowed the insolvency fund's motion for judgment on the pleadings. The Supreme Court decided that the insolvency fund was subject to consumer actions and remanded the case. The parties subsequently settled Plaintiff's negligence claim. A superior court judge ruled that Plaintiff was entitled to attorney's fees, a decision the insolvency fund appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that where, as here, a plaintiff prevails in a consumer action against the insolvency fund under the consumer protection act, the insolvency fund is liable for reasonable attorney's fees. View "Wheatley v. Mass. Insurers Insolvency Fund" on Justia Law

Employees of Michaels Stores, Inc. request and record customers' zip codes in processing credit card transactions. Plaintiff, a customer of Michaels, filed an action on behalf of herself and a putative class of Michaels customers in the federal district court, alleging that Michaels unlawfully writes customers' personal identification information on credit card transaction forms in violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, 105(a) (the statute). The Supreme Court accepted certification to answer questions of state law and held (1) a zip code constitutes personal identification information for purposes of the statute; (2) a plaintiff may bring an action for violation of the statute absent identity fraud; and (3) the term "credit card transaction form" in the statute refers equally to electronic and paper transaction forms. View "Tyler v. Michael Stores, Inc." on Justia Law

Plaintiffs brought an action against defendant, seeking a refund of two cruise tickets they purchased and cancelled, and damages under G.L.c. 93A for unfair and deceptive trade practices. The court concluded that the evidence at trial plainly established that defendant violated the Attorney General's travel service regulations in two respects: fist, it failed to disclose the refund policy; and second, having violated the disclosure statement, it failed to refund the payments made by a cancelling customer within thirty days. These violations qualified as unfair or deceptive acts, and they caused plaintiffs a loss: the lack of a prompt refund of the ticket price. The court also concluded that plaintiffs' demand letter satisfied the requirements of G.L.c. 93A, section 9(3). The purposes of the demand letter were sufficiently fulfilled where it constituted fair notice of the claim and enabled defendant to make a reasonable tender of settlement. Accordingly, the judgment for defendant on plaintiffs' claims was reversed and the case remanded for the entry of judgment for plaintiffs and for determination of their damages, reasonable attorneys' fees, and costs. View "Casavant & another v. Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd." on Justia Law