Justia Massachusetts Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The plaintiffs, a group of professional models, alleged that the defendant, an adult entertainment nightclub, used their images in social media posts without consent to promote the club between August 2013 and November 2015. The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in 2021 in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, claiming defamation and related torts. This filing was outside the three-year statute of limitations specified by Massachusetts law. To avoid dismissal, the plaintiffs argued for the application of the "discovery rule," which would delay the start of the limitations period until they knew or reasonably should have known about the harm.The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts noted that the application of the discovery rule to social media posts was a novel issue in Massachusetts law. The court certified a question to the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, asking under what circumstances material posted on social media platforms could be considered "inherently unknowable" for the purposes of applying the discovery rule in defamation and related tort claims.The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that claims arising from social media posts accrue when a plaintiff knows or reasonably should know they have been harmed by the publication. The court emphasized that the vastness of social media and the variability in access and searchability require a fact-specific inquiry. The court concluded that whether the plaintiffs knew or should have known about the harm must often be determined by the finder of fact. However, if the social media material is widely distributed and readily accessible and searchable, a judge may determine as a matter of law that the discovery rule does not apply. View "Davalos v. Bay Watch, Inc." on Justia Law

Kenneth Wynne and Allison Wynne owned and operated Wynne Fine Art, which accepted art works from creditor artists. After the Wynnes filed for bankruptcy, the trustee of the bankruptcy estates moved to sell the art works. The creditor artists commenced an adversary proceeding against the bankruptcy estate seeking a declaration that the art works were held in trust under the Massachusetts fine art consignment statute, Mass. Gen. Laws, ch. 104A, 2(b), and therefore were not the property of the bankruptcy estates. The trustee counterclaimed seeking a declaration that chapter 104A was inapplicable because when the creditor artists delivered their work to the gallery they did not provide a written statement describing the art work as required by chapter 104A, section 2(b). The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts certified a question of law to the Supreme Judicial Court concerning the effect of a consignor’s failure to deliver a written statement pursuant to chapter 104A, section 2(b). The Supreme Judicial Court answered that a written statement of delivery is not a prerequisite for the formation of a consignment under chapter 104A. View "Plumb v. Casey" on Justia Law