Massachusetts Lawyer Blog

Commercial real estate development and deals are heating up in Weymouth, Massachusetts. As a Weymouth lawyer and elected town councilor, I'm seeing good economic signs in these difficult financial times. Weymouth, MA is poised to grow into a healthy business community for entrepreneurs and established businesses.

Convenient & Accessible by Car or Train

With gas prices rising, Weymouth remains a short drive to local beaches and recreation areas and it's only a one hour drive to a long weekend on Cape Cod or a reasonable drive to Boston (or 20 minute train trip to South Station). Weymouth is a suburb with three commuter rail stations (two Greenbush Line trains and one Old Colony line station) providing attractive new commuting options between Boston and the South Shore. While always considered somewhat of bedroom community of Boston, Weymouth is now an attractive place for economic opportunities and jobs on its own.

South Weymouth Naval Air Station Redevelopment

At each dinner party or event I attend people are asking what is happening at the old South Weymouth Naval Air Station (now Southfield) where 2855 housing units and 2 million square feet of commercial space are planned (along with recreation areas and other amenities). The recent conversations also include talks of Hollywood East coming to Weymouth. A potential movie studio deal seems to hinge on tax credits recently approved by the House. This would be solid anchor tenant for the air base's redevelopment and would provide a new local economic driver with good jobs and economic stimulus for the entire South Shore. But economic development is not limited to this site only.

Growth

The South Shore Hospital's expansion and new cancer facility are going up fast along Route 18. The Rt. 18 intersections work is advancing and plans for the widening of Rt. 18 and a new Fore River Bridge in North Weymouth are also in the works. Further south along Route 18 towards the Abington line, a new CVS is replacing formerly vacant buildings. Other areas are seeing similar growth and transformation. Yesterday, The Boston Business Journal reports:

Foxrock Properties has acquired an office building at 90 Libbey Parkway in Weymouth from 90 Libbey Parkway LLC for $11.5 million.

The 80,000 square-feet building is located in more than five acres off Middle Street. Tenants at the time of the sale included: South Shore Hospital, Brigham & Women’s Hospital and South Coast Dermatology. After the sale, South Shore Sports Therapy signed a lease for 11,000 square feet.

Whether it's the new medical buildings emerging in the area (many have) or the influx of new medical companies, Weymouth is becoming an attractive option for those looking to live in a town that offers the business opportunities of a city. This is true for both big and small companies -- recently I was invited to attend the opening of Patricia & Company, a medical boutique that serves the cosmetic needs of oncology patients.

The Right Time

While the economy is undergoing its challenges and trying times look to still lie ahead, this may be an opportune time for business growth in Weymouth, especially in the areas of life sciences, bio-tech, entertainment, and health services. Additionally, growth in these industries will be a boom for the many ancillary businesses that will support this growth. While property values are eroding elsewhere, this may also be an opportunity for Weymouth to maintain or grow its residential value and position itself for a leap forward when the economy does turn around.

An Improving Community

With economic development in sight and a strong and expanding medical community emerging, Weymouth, Massachusetts is moving in directions for MA business owners and entrepreneurs to consider. Whether you work with our law firm's attorneys or not, I'd be happy to speak with any business thinking of relocating to the Weymouth area. As an elected councilor (at large) in Weymouth, I'm happy to help local business owners do well in these challenging economic times. It's not just good business, but it's good for our local community and our local families.

Massachusetts laws prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities in Massachusetts disability cases, arising under Federal and MA Discrimination laws, may have different meanings in different contexts.

If you are being discriminated against due to a disability or perceived disability there may be a number of legal claims for you to consider to aid in protecting your rights.The enforcement of disability discrimination laws can involve different courts or commissions and may require various types of expert evidence and testimony.

The MA Disability Law Center offers a chart on Massachusetts laws prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities and provides some examples of legal resources which may be available as a starting place.

Attorney John Parry has authored the book, Disability Discrimination Law, Evidence and Testimony. A Comprehensive Reference Manual for Lawyers, Judges and Disability Professionals, which covers a host of topics your lawyer or disability advocate may consider in handling your disability discrimination case.

Additionally, The Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD) has prepared an online pamphlet to:

increase awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities, both by persons with disabilities themselves and by the larger community. Other goals of the Office include: the elimination of discrimination against persons with disabilities; the creation of a barrier free environment; the improvement of the state’s services delivery system for persons with disabilities, and the creation of fully integrated and accessible education, housing, transportation and employment in the public and private sectors.

Topics listed include:

• INTRODUCTION
• ABUSE / NEGLECT / TREATMENT CONDITIONS
• ARCHITECTURAL ACCESS
• AUTOMOBILES & TRANSPORTATION
• DISABILITY COMMISSIONS
• EDUCATION
• EMPLOYMENT
• EQUAL RIGHTS
• HATE CRIMES
• HOUSING
• PUBLIC PLACES & PROGRAMS
• SERVICE ANIMALS
• TELECOMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY
• VOTING
• WHEELCHAIRS
• ZONING

Attorney Kevin Whitaker serves as a town councilor and as an appointed member of the Town of Weymouth, MA Commission on Disabilities.

Boston.com article, "Mass. woman kills self before home foreclosure," reports:

A 53-year-old wife and mother fatally shot herself shortly after faxing a letter to her mortgage company saying that by the time they foreclosed on her house that day, she would be dead.

According the the article, her husband did not know the foreclosure was scheduled today because his wife took care of the bills and mail.  The article also indicates the woman may have thought that life insurance proceeds could be used to pay for the home -- this isn't true.  No life insurance company that I'm aware of is going to pay any amount of an insurance policy for a suicide claim.  Let me be clear, suicide in not a solution.  This tragedy does, however, speak to the problem being faced by many -- times are financially tough and many people don't know what to do.

I'm seeing more despair and anxiety in my Weymouth law office with both new and old clients.  Often I'm meeting with distressed individuals, families, and business owners who break down in tears as they tell their story.  Many are relieved just by talking to someone or by getting their problems off their chest.  Later, when they learn alternatives to bankruptcy and foreclosure may exist for them, they ask, "Why didn't I do this sooner?"

If you are feeling overwhelmed by debt, the harassing phone calls, and threatening letters, then you need to seek help. You deserve the opportunity to explore all of your available options and to do so with an objective adviser.  There should be no guilt, or shame, or judgment associated with doing this.  Getting help is the responsible thing to do and it can often put you on the path toward a fresh start.  A new beginning without the burden and distraction of constant worry and anxiety could be right in front of you without you even knowing it.

Do you submit confidential documents to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)?

David A. Skidmore, Jr. and William F. Becker in a Frost Brown Todd LLC Client Advisory, "Take care when providing proprietary or confidential information to the EEOC", discuss issues a company should consider when making an EEOC filing. Their article follows from their reading of Venetian Casino Resort, L.L.C. v. EEOC, decided June 27, 2008, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals:

First, employers should not submit information assuming that it will be treated by the EEOC as confidential. Second, if sensitive information is submitted to the EEOC, just labeling it “confidential” may not be enough to assure that the EEOC will provide notice before disclosing the information to anyone who asks for it. The Court of Appeals specifically stated that “. . . disclosure of information does not violate the [Trade Secrets Act] merely because that information was labeled ‘confidential’ by the submitter.”

At a minimum, confidential information submitted to the EEOC should include prominent notice that it is confidential, an explanation of how disclosure would cause “substantial harm to your company’s competitive position,” and a request that notice be given before the information is disclosed in response to a FOIA request.

Do you know what's being said about you on the internet? Whether you're a Massachusetts small business owner, an individual, or a parent, are you monitoring the conversations about you, your business, or your family taking place on the internet?

Check out What Should Every Company Be Monitoring? for a list of ideas.

You can't respond to what you don't know about. I use alerts and RSS feeds to help stay on top of issues and conversations involving our Weymouth, MA law firm and our Massachusetts clients. With more and more reputation attacks and defamation cases arising on the internet (as well as speculative and plainly erroneous information), this is likely to be growth area in law and business.

An ABA Journal Article, "Former Law Dean Obtains Internet Addresses of Anonymous Online Critics", is a reminder that what one anonymously writes on the internet may not be anonymous.

Could your blog, comments, or other online postings land you in the middle of a defamation suit? Or raise the possibility of an interference with business relations claim? Are you anonymously mentioning competitors or promoting your services in a manner that could be seen as unfair competition or as violations of consumer protection laws?

Things to consider before making "anonymous" postings or contributions. In the alternative, this is also a means to seek protection when you, your business, or your children are the targets of anonymous online attacks.

This morning my daughter suggested we take the net (from that game where you hit the thing that looks like an empty ice cream cone) and use it to play volleyball.  I knew immediately she was talking about the net from the old badminton set because the "empty ice cream cone" was certainly the birdie we hit back and forth about a month ago.  In communication and in law context is everything -- both combined can lead to real value.

You shouldn't need to talk in legal mumbo jumbo to get your point across or to achieve the result you desire.  Find a lawyer who knows the law but also gets where you are coming from.  Seek out an attorney who will invest in building a relationship with you.  This is the foundation for providing value -- a real value that seeks to first understand and then meet your needs.  Anything else is just an empty ice cream cone...

In Blank Rome's Newsletter, Ninth Circuit Ruling Raises Stakes for Companies and Individuals Facing Parallel Civil and Criminal Investigations By: Matthew D. Lee and Tyler Brody, they discuss issues raised in a case were a civil governmental investigation was being coordinated with criminal investigations, United States v. Stringer, 521 F.3d 499 (9th Cir. 2008) Download Case.

The criminal investigations were slowed down and not overtly acted upon so the civil investigation could proceed and obtain statements which would not likely to be provided in a criminal case.  Here, the civil and criminal activities were closely coordinated and the civil investigators were even instructed on how to ask questions in depositions to help build the government's criminal case.  When the target's attorney asked about the possibility of a criminal investigation, despite knowing in was ongoing, the civil investigation did not need to disclose this fact when an SEC Form 1662 was provided which makes a blanket statement that information collected may be shared with other governmental agencies.

The Blank Rome article states:

The impact of the Stringer decision on how counsel should approach the defense of a civil investigation cannot be under - stated. Defense attorneys must be aware that their clients can potentially, and unknowingly, waive their Fifth Amendment rights after they are given minimal notice by civil investigators. Thus, even if a government investigation appears to be merely civil in nature, an astute defense attorney must anticipate the possibility that the civil attorneys are working with, or taking direction from, prosecutors seeking to build a criminal case. Counsel also must realize that, simply because the existence of criminal investigation is not readily apparent, does not mean that one is not underway, especially if their clients are cooperating with civil investigators. Indeed, Stringer allows criminal and civil investigators to conceal a significant amount of collaboration and joint strategic planning without triggering concerns that the government is acting in bad faith.

They conclude:

The Stringer decision shows that defense counsel should handle the defense of a client subject to a civil investigation as though it were criminal, and strongly consider the extent to which their clients should be cooperating with government lawyers, particularly where the lawyer knows that the client may have criminal exposure. Because the result of Stringer affords government lawyers so much leeway in using evidence collected in a civil investigation to build a criminal case, counsel must be careful not to allow their clients to supply the government with the proverbial rope with which they will ultimately be hung.

If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in Massachusetts, perhaps you wondering what "is" the MA market doing? This Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) data sheet provides data on items such as number of sales and median selling prices (for single family homes and condominiums.)

I think it might be interesting to look at the data for prices when foreclosures and distressed sales are removed from the picture as these are likely to skew the numbers, especially with respect to median selling price.

Sample data from MAR (see link for full data):

Historical Monthly Sales of Single Family Homes and Condominiums by Month & Year: Single Family, then Condominiums

• May 07: 3,884 2,173
• June 07: 4,959 2,352
• July 07: 4,363 1,933
• Aug 07: 4,700 2,235
• Sep 07: 3,108 1,384
• Oct 07: 3,047 1,309
• Nov 07: 2,986 1,245
• Dec 07: 2,532 1,107
• Jan 08: 1,984 843
• Feb 08: 1,857 827
• Mar 08: 2,339 1,093
• Apr 08: 2,803 1,286
• May 08: 3,491 1,640

The Lowell Deeds Blog reports statistics for Middlesex North Registry of Deeds :

2008 is half over, so I compared our recording activity during the past six months with the first six months of 2007. For the entire ten town district, here’s what I found:

Deeds in 2007 - 3346; in 2008 - 2630, a 21% decline
Mortgages in 2007 - 8619; in 2008 - 6500, a 25% decline
Foreclosures in 2007 - 186; in 2008 - 328, a 76% increase

I suspect the new Massachusetts mortgage foreclosure law will probably reduce the number of residential foreclosures for the short term (as notice requirements and waiting periods are met under the right to cure provision/extension). This seems to be playing out currently as discussed in the post Massachusetts Foreclosure Law Creates Calm Before the Storm.

A new mandate included in a Massachusetts foreclosure law has prompted the number of foreclosure filings in the state to fall to 392 filings in May from 3,414 filings the month before, according to ForeclosuresMass.com, a provider of Massachusetts foreclosure data.

Perhaps the new law will help motivate banks and mortgage lenders to work with distressed owners. Workout agreements, short sales, and other alternatives can help provide solutions and assist in preventing a property's waste. As foreclosed properties sit vacant and unattended they are both declining in value and experiencing a host of problems. Yesterday, in Weymouth, MA, I had another client walk away from a foreclosure or bank purchase after an inspection revealed mold was everywhere.

Given the picture painted by the statistics, bank owned properties' challenges, and the new Massachusetts law perhaps now is a time for owners in over their heads to consider seeking the help of an attorney in avoiding foreclosure and protecting their interests. Banks and investors too need to consider what's in their best interest. Unless something is done, the floodgates may be prepared to open as the extended right to cure defaults period (90 days) begins to run out for future foreclosure candidates. Time will tell...