#civil-litigation

#civil-litigation

The state's police oversight board has suspended the certification of former Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, the embattled investigator who was fired earlier this year over his conduct during the Karen Read case. The Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, or POST, said it has "concluded by a preponderance of the evidence that the suspension is in the best interest of the health, safety, or welfare of the public," according to a Dec. 18 order. Proctor had been certified through July 1, 2026.

The claims have been made against Billy Watts, who worked at the club's Cliff training ground in the 1980s. He died in 2009. A civil case has been brought by a man who alleges he was abused when he was a child and he accuses the club of failing to protect him from the abuse while he was under their care and supervision.

The proceedings around Sean "Diddy" Combs' criminal case have wrapped up, but his problems are far from it. In a hearing on Friday, he was sentenced to 50 months behind bars for the two prostitution-related charges for which he was found guilty in July. The image of the rapper leaving the courtroom escorted by two US Marshals marked the criminal case coming to a close, a continuation of his life behind bars, and a future of legal challenges and reputational damage.

We undertook a further review of a case file in relation to allegations of assault and rape between 2013 and 2015, a CPS spokesperson said. Following careful consideration of the evidence provided by Hertfordshire constabulary, we concluded that our legal test for prosecution was not met, and that no further action should be taken. We have informed all parties of our decision and offered to meet with the complainants to explain our reasoning in more detail.

Just months after her acquittal in the death of her boyfriend, John O'Keefe, Karen Read is expected in a Massachusetts courtroom Monday to face a wrongful death lawsuit from O'Keefe's family. The 2 p.m. hearing in Plymouth Superior Court marks an escalation for the civil case, which had largely been on hold while Read's criminal case was pending. Monday's hearing also reunites Read with attorneys Alan Jackson and Elizabeth Little, who lead Read's criminal defense.

Lawyers often need to represent clients that do not have too many defenses for the crimes charged or the civil wrongs alleged. However, our adversarial system of justice requires that people get solid representation since justice is easier to attain when the best arguments are presented by all sides. As attorneys, it can sometimes be easy to give up and throw in the towel on certain aspects of a representation. However, in most situations, lawyers should not go down without a fight.

Cuomo, a co-defendant with the state, opposed Commisso's request to discontinue the lawsuit. Relatedly, he sought to make public text messages produced under discovery he claims refute Commisso's allegations. Cuomo attorney Rita Glavin had told a judge that potentially ending the case is a matter of "enormous public interest" as Cuomo runs for mayor. Hartman allowed Commisso to drop the civil suit and denied Cuomo's motion on the texts.

By all indications there is very little appetite for antitrust enforcement from the DOJ, Francis X. Riley, a partner at Saul Ewing LLP., said. They just aren't doing anything. They are letting these mergers go through with limited investigations or limited exchange of information, and this sheds light on the fact that the DOJ is not going to be active in antitrust enforcement actions.