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Full-Text Articles in Law
Massachusetts Has A Problem: The Unconstitutionality Of The Tax Deed, Ralph D. Clifford
Massachusetts Has A Problem: The Unconstitutionality Of The Tax Deed, Ralph D. Clifford
University of Massachusetts Law Review
The predominant method for collecting delinquent real estate taxes in Massachusetts is the use of the “tax deed” as authorized by Chapter 60, Sections 53-54. Under the authorized procedures, each municipality’s tax collector can execute and record a deed that transfers fee simple title to the real estate to the municipality subject to the taxpayer’s statutorily created redemption right. If the redemption right is or cannot be exercised, all of the taxpayer’s rights in the property, as well as other’s rights created by encumbrances such as mortgages, are terminated by the foreclosure process provided for in the statute. Importantly, the …
The Profit And Loss Report On Animal Rights: How Profit Maximization Has Driven The Stagnation Of The Legal Identification Of Animals As Property, Anthony M. Doss
The Profit And Loss Report On Animal Rights: How Profit Maximization Has Driven The Stagnation Of The Legal Identification Of Animals As Property, Anthony M. Doss
University of Massachusetts Law Review
The concern for the wellbeing and humane treatment of animals continues to grow in the United States. However, while public opinion on how animals should be treated has largely changed, the legal classification for animals has not. Nonhuman animals today, just as in centuries past, keep only a property classification in the law. This classification, which we humans assign to furniture, jewelry, and paper plates, comes with a set of legal rights held exclusively by the owner of the property. These rights bestow upon the owner the abilities to sell, use, and destroy the property as they see fit with …
Pirate Tales From The Deep [Web]: An Exploration Of Online Copyright Infringement In The Digital Age, Nicholas C. Butland, Justin J. Sullivan
Pirate Tales From The Deep [Web]: An Exploration Of Online Copyright Infringement In The Digital Age, Nicholas C. Butland, Justin J. Sullivan
University of Massachusetts Law Review
Technology has seen a boom over the last few decades, making innovative leaps that border on science fiction. With the most recent technological leap came a new frontier of intellectual property and birthed a new class of criminal: the cyber-pirate. This Article discusses cyber-piracy and its interactions and implications for modern United States copyright law. The Article explains how copyright law, unprepared for the boom, struggled to adapt as courts reconciled the widely physical perceptions of copyright with the digital information being transferred between billions of users instantaneously. The Article also explores how cyber-piracy has made, and continues to make, …
The Legal Status Of Charter Schools In State Statutory Law, Preston C. Green Iii, Bruce D. Baker, Joseph O. Oluwole
The Legal Status Of Charter Schools In State Statutory Law, Preston C. Green Iii, Bruce D. Baker, Joseph O. Oluwole
University of Massachusetts Law Review
Given the recent increase in charter schools as an alternative to the traditional public education system, this Article explores the legal status and position of charter schools. Charter schools exhibit many characteristics of private schools, particularly in terms of management, but also retain many public school features. Thus, this Article explores areas of the law where charter schools were either classified as public or private in terms of state statutes or regulations, discussing recent and some pending litigation. First, this Article discusses whether charter schools, charter school boards and officials, or educational management organizations which manage charter schools are entitled …
Shooing The Vultures Away From The Consumer Bankruptcy Carcass: Attorney Fees Owed By Debtors For Marital Dissolution Are Not Domestic Support Obligations, Christopher V. Davis
Shooing The Vultures Away From The Consumer Bankruptcy Carcass: Attorney Fees Owed By Debtors For Marital Dissolution Are Not Domestic Support Obligations, Christopher V. Davis
University of Massachusetts Law Review
This Note will focus on consumer bankruptcy related to chapter 7 and chapter 13 filings. Section I provides an introduction to DSOs and the goals of enforcing them through bankruptcy. Section I also discusses the impact of DSO status on the automatic stay, discharge, priority status for property distribution of the bankruptcy estate, capability to reach exempt property, and application to attorney fees. Section II argues that, where attorney fees are not owed to a spouse, former spouse, or child, and do not fit within an impact exception, the fees are not DSOs, but instead are merely general non-secured claims. …
The Changing Practice Of Bankruptcy Law: An Analysis Of How Bankruptcy Practice Has Changed In The Last Decade, Michael Goldstein, Samantha Einhorn, Jill L. Phillips
The Changing Practice Of Bankruptcy Law: An Analysis Of How Bankruptcy Practice Has Changed In The Last Decade, Michael Goldstein, Samantha Einhorn, Jill L. Phillips
University of Massachusetts Law Review
The practice of bankruptcy law has changed drastically over the last decade. An attorney starting out in the field in 2009 faces different issue than one who began in 1999. However, it’s not just the issues that come up with clients that make the practice so different, but the law of bankruptcy itself has changed. The economic downturn of the last eighteen months has changed the way the public views bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005 and In re Bateman, a case decided in 2008, altered the landscape of bankruptcy practice forever. This article will walk through a …
Time For Change: Bringing Massachusetts Homestead And Personal Property Exemptions Into The Twenty-First Century, Lee Harrington
Time For Change: Bringing Massachusetts Homestead And Personal Property Exemptions Into The Twenty-First Century, Lee Harrington
University of Massachusetts Law Review
There are presently two pieces of legislation pending on Beacon Hill that are intended to offer amendments to the Homestead Statute and Exemption Statute that would offer meaningful changes and real relief for the citizens of the Commonwealth. This article provides a brief history of the two statutory schemes, provides some comparisons to the schemes in other states, and highlights the changes sought by the proposed amendments.
Resolving The Double Liability Problem: A Critique Of California's Mechanics Lien Statute, Terrence Nguyen
Resolving The Double Liability Problem: A Critique Of California's Mechanics Lien Statute, Terrence Nguyen
University of Massachusetts Law Review
California’s mechanics lien statute allows a sub-contractor to file a lien on a homeowner’s property when a direct contractor, for whom the sub-contractor worked, has failed to pay the sub-contractor. The statute compels the homeowner to pay the sub-contractor even when the homeowner has paid the direct contractor in full. This Note argues that California’s mechanics lien statute is too broad, because the statute does not provide any exception for a homeowner who has paid the direct contractor in full. Specifically, this Note argues that California’s mechanics lien statute violates public policy, as well as constitutional, and contract principles. This …