Rich May law firm

In a diversion from longstanding Massachusetts law, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) has adopted the modern trend that following a failed engagement, regardless of which party breaks off the engagement, the engagement ring must be returned to the donor. The decision overturns the Commonwealth’s previously settled rule that if the engagement failed, then the engagement ring should go to the party who was not responsible for terminating the engagement.…

As we ring in the New Year, now is a great time to take inventory of some important and comprehensive tax legislative changes that occurred in 2023. On October 4th, 2023, Governor Maura Healy signed into law Bill H. 4104, “An Act to improve the Commonwealth’s competitiveness, affordability, and equity” (“the Act”). The Act is the most sweeping and comprehensive tax bill in Massachusetts in decades, and it permits the…

Recently, the City of Quincy attempted to shut down a client’s ability to rent part of her home on Airbnb.  We defended the client in a hearing in July, and this week the court ruled against the City and in favor of our client. Many municipalities including Quincy have recently been tightening their regulation of short-term property rentals through services like Airbnb. On March 15, 2021, Quincy passed a zoning…

Drastic regulatory changes are taking place in the world of private funds. On August 23, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced amendments to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) which substantially impact both SEC-registered investment advisers and unregistered investment advisers.  The SEC voted 3-2 along party lines to adopt a set of new rules under the Advisers Act, with an express focus on private…

Congress approved new investments in clean energy at an unprecedented scale in November 2021’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”) and August 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”). These laws expanded or created dozens of tax incentives and grant programs to support investment in established renewable energy technologies, like solar and wind, and in technologies earlier in the adoption curve, like hydrogen and carbon capture & sequestration. While the IIJA and…