Engel & Schultz, LLP » Recent Recoveries http://www.engelschultz.com A Boston Law Firm Fri, 04 Jun 2010 16:35:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 Substantal Settlement of Whistleblower and Disability Cases http://www.engelschultz.com/index.php/substantal-settlement-of-whistleblower-and-disability-cases/ http://www.engelschultz.com/index.php/substantal-settlement-of-whistleblower-and-disability-cases/#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:42:25 +0000 admin http://www.engelschultz.com/?p=679

Engel & Schultz announced that in the same week, it has settled two long standing employment cases.  One case involved a wrongful termination of an alleged whistleblower.  The second case involved the alleged failure to accommodate an individual with a physical disability.  While the terms of the settlements are confidential, the defense attorney in one case described the settlement as “substantial”.  In the other case, which the office had pursued for the past three years, in settlement discussions, defense counsel stated, “You were not dealt a strong hand, but you played every card right.  It’s time for you to cash in your chips.”  Both plaintiffs are extremely decent people, and Engel & Schultz is happy to have worked on both of their behalfs.

]]> http://www.engelschultz.com/index.php/substantal-settlement-of-whistleblower-and-disability-cases/feed/ 1 Over $200 Million in Tax Rebates Result from Constitutional Challenge to Capital Gains Tax http://www.engelschultz.com/index.php/over-200-million-in-tax-rebates-result-from-constitutional-challenge-to-capital-gains-tax/ http://www.engelschultz.com/index.php/over-200-million-in-tax-rebates-result-from-constitutional-challenge-to-capital-gains-tax/#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:25:09 +0000 admin http://www.engelschultz.com/?p=511

Taxpayers across Massachusetts continue to receive rebates as the result of Engel & Schultz’s successful constitutional challenge to the change in the capital gains tax rate in the middle of the calendar year 2002.

In the case of Peterson v. Commissioner of Revenue (Peterson I), Engel & Schultz successfully obtained a ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling declaring that it was unconstitutional to make effective a change in the tax laws in the middle of the 2002 calendar year, thus, taxing some taxpayers, while not taxing other taxpayers, for the same types of transactions.

In response to Peterson I, the legislature passed a law purporting to treat all taxpayers the same, stating that all taxpayers owed capital gains taxes in 2002, but then exempting from that taxation those taxpayers who had already filed their tax returns and paid no capital gains tax for the year 2002. Engel & Schultz challenged the constitutionality of this new legislation. The Commonwealth sought to justify this new legislation by arguing that it was reasonable to exempt persons from taxation who sold their assets prior to May 1, 2002, under the doctrine of “reliance”. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, at Engel & Schultz’s urging, rejected this argument, and declared the new law, like the first law, to be unconstitutional.

Both houses of the legislature, in response to Peterson II, initially voted for bills which would have established January 1, 2002, as the effective date of the change in the capital gains tax laws, thus, providing rebates to no taxpayers.   The governor, through his Commissioner of Revenue, initially argued for the constitutionality of the original tax law, and then requested the court to set January 1, 2002, as the effective date of the change in the capital gain tax.

In response, Engel & Schultz crafted a compromise, eventually adopted by the legislature, providing for a four year payout of the tax abatement, resulting in more than $200 million of tax rebates. Engel & Schultz partner Stephen Schultz was lead counsel in the case.

]]> http://www.engelschultz.com/index.php/over-200-million-in-tax-rebates-result-from-constitutional-challenge-to-capital-gains-tax/feed/ 0 $2.3+ Million Judgment Awarded After Finding of Defective Construction of Condominium http://www.engelschultz.com/index.php/engel-schultz-wins-cotuit-bay-condominium-case-2/ http://www.engelschultz.com/index.php/engel-schultz-wins-cotuit-bay-condominium-case-2/#comments Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:15:06 +0000 admin http://www.engelschultz.com/?p=529

Twenty years after the case was first filed, and after sixty one days of trial, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, in the case of Berish v. Bornstein, upheld the plaintiff’s verdict awarding more than $2 million in damages after interest.  In addition, the Appeals Court awarded additional damages not awarded by the trial court, making the new award plus interest exceed $2.3 Million. 

Engel & Schultz took over the case from predecessor counsel after the first trial of the case, in which predecessor counsel had only recovered $420,000.  The $2.3 Million awarded to the homeowners was in addition to the $420,000 they had previously recovered, making the total recovery in the case exceed $2.7 million.  Engel & Schultz successfully argued to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that there is an implied warranty of habitability which attaches to the new construction of condominiums, and got the case remanded for a new trial.  The trial court found defects in the construction of the windows, the chimney enclosures, the firewalls and the firestops.  

Lead counsel in the case was Engel & Schultz partner Stephen Schultz, who handled the appeals of teh case and who tried the retrial of the case with partner Mark Engel.

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