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August-September 2020 News & Events
The end of summer is usually a slower, quieter month for municipalities. Not so this year, with school opening uncertainties, early...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Sep 12, 20201 min read


FID and the Unsuitable Person Process
M.G.L. c. 140, § 129B formerly permitted a licensing authority to deny a firearm identification card (FID) only if the applicant was a...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Jul 31, 20202 min read


Rapid Fire Update - July 2020
MassDOT Shared Streets and Spaces Funding Program MassDOT has announced a $5 million grant program to municipalities to launch or expand,...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Jul 31, 20201 min read


DEP Must Perform an Independent Analysis of BACT, Says the First Circuit
Earlier this month, the Town of Weymouth, represented by our own Ray Miyares, Bryan Bertram, and Katherine Stock, won its challenge in...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Jul 31, 20202 min read


Collecting Civil Penalties: Follow Requisite Procedures or Collect Nothing
The recent Appeals Court case of Maroney v. Planning Board of Haverhill, 19-P-566 (Appeals Court June 15, 2020) highlights the pitfalls...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Jul 31, 20203 min read


The Supreme Court Rules that Some Discharges to Groundwater Require a NPDES Permit
The federal Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §§1251 et seq., requires a permit for discharges from a point source to “navigable waters,” which...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
May 29, 20202 min read


Resolving Tension Between a Strong Fire Chief’s Managerial Rights & Collective Bargaining Agreements
The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently issued a decision affirming that Massachusetts Fire Chiefs possess non-delegable management...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
May 29, 20202 min read


Rapid Fire Update - May 2020
EPA Issues Final Rule Redefining "Waters of the United States" On April 21, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
May 29, 20201 min read


Town Meeting Warrants – How Specific Do the Articles Need to Be?
The Supreme Judicial Court recently had occasion to review and affirm the adequacy of a Town Meeting Warrant article that the Town itself...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Apr 30, 20202 min read


Section 12 Alcohol License – Any Illegality Puts the License at Risk
A bar with an all-alcohol license, issued under M.G.L. c. 138, §12, which permits the premises to serve alcohol to patrons on site, also...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Apr 30, 20202 min read


The Community Caretaker Doctrine Extends to Warrantless Entry of a Residence
Police serve many critical community functions other than law enforcement: crowd control, responding to accidents and other emergencies,...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Apr 30, 20202 min read


April 2020 News & Events
April, the month that wasn’t. It may be spring but it seems more akin to Groundhog Day. Nevertheless, news springs year-round, so let’s...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Apr 30, 20201 min read


What to Do When Your Website and Notice of Meetings are Offline
A number of municipal websites throughout the Commonwealth recently were impacted by an outage. Municipalities that have designated their...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Mar 31, 20201 min read


Municipal Ownership by Prescriptive Easement is Not a Taking
Another recent Supreme Judicial Court decision, Gentili v. Town of Sturbridge, sheds light on the distinction between a municipality’s...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Mar 31, 20202 min read


March 2020 News & Events
March has been all COVID-19, all the time! Like you, we have been preoccupied with the fast-changing developments regarding COVID-19’s...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Mar 31, 20201 min read


The Tort Claims Act Requires “Presentment” of a Claim within Two Years.The SJC Defines It.
It is well known that, before a municipality may be sued for a tort such as negligence, claimants must “present” their claims to the...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Mar 31, 20202 min read


February 2020 News & Events
Ah, February. A short month, but don’t skip the enthralling monthly topics in this issue of the Miyares and Harrington LLP newsletter. We...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Feb 21, 20201 min read


Rapid Fire Updates - February 2020
Check out the new DLS Municipal Finance Training and Resource Center! It is full of helpful videos and documents. DLS even has its own...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Feb 21, 20201 min read


City Preliminarily Enjoined from Enforcing its Marijuana Moratorium
On January 24, 2020, a Middlesex Superior Court judge enjoined the City of Cambridge from enforcing an ordinance that prohibits...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Feb 21, 20202 min read


The Tort Claims Act Applies to Municipal “Commercial” Services but Permits Class Actions
Our January newsletter promised an analysis of Magliacane v. City of Gardner, an important decision from the Supreme Judicial Court...
Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Feb 21, 20202 min read