Recently, Judge Young of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, wrote an opinion interpreting the Massachusetts Security Deposit law, G.L. c. 186, § 15B. In the case of Hermida v. Archstone, (Civil Action No. 10-12083-WGY) the court addressed an...
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Security Deposit Law—Landlords Beware!
The Massachusetts Security Deposit law, G.L. c. 186, § 15B, states that a landlord cannot require a tenant to pay any money at the inception of a tenancy except (i) rent for the first full month of occupancy; (ii) rent for the last full month of occupancy calculated...
Can a landlord charge for water and sewer?
In Massachusetts, in order for the landlord to charge for water and sewer, there are a number of specific steps that have to be taken. There has to be water conserving fixtures installed and the water has to be separately metered. A plumber has to certify as to the...
Halloween laws
Every now and then, it is fun to look at ordinary events in our lives and examine how law interacts with the event. Halloween is one of those events. Massachusetts was home to the Salem witchcraft trials. These trials occurred in 1692 in which 19 people were...
Bribe your ex-spouse
After divorce, parties frequently feel the need to change the terms of the separation agreement or divorce judgment. The easiest way to change the divorce terms is to enter into an agreement with your ex-spouse. Unfortunately, the ex may not agree even though you are...
The 4 “A”s that cause divorce
There can be many reasons for couples to get divorced. However, four behaviors stand out as causing divorce: Abuse, Addiction, Adultery, and Abstention. Physical abuse constitutes the crime of assault and battery. This behavior can be highly destructive. While many...
The Alimony Reform Act of 2011
The alimony reform act of 2011 was signed into law last week. This law reforms the law of alimony with the stated purpose of eliminating life long alimony. The law changes alimony in many other ways such as creating new types of alimony, allowing new factors to be...
Who should have a premarital agreement
The simple answer is anybody who comes to the marriage with something to protect when the marriage terminates should have a premarital agreement when they get married. The general categories of people who can benefit are people with children from a prior relationship,...
What is a prenuptial agreement?
A pre-nuptial agreement is an agreement between a couple who intend to get married which determines financial obligations upon termination of the marriage. All marriages terminate either by divorce or by death. A pre-nuptial agreement should determine rights and...
Tenants’ rights after foreclosure
In the recent case of Bank of New York v. Bailey, 460 Mass. 327, (SJC-10801, August 4, 2011) the court ruled that a tenant has the right to challenge the title of a owner who obtained their title to the property from a foreclosure. While this is considered by...
