Kelly v. Marx, 428 Mass 877 (1999)
The Supreme Judicial Court reversed a ruling of the Appeals Court that refused to enforce a liquidated damages provision where the breach of contract caused no actual loss. The SJC held a liquidated damages provision was enforceable so long as it was reasonable when negotiated. The SJC refused to re-evaluate reasonableness at the time of the breach by comparing the agreed liquidated damages with the loss actually caused by the breach.
Graves v. R.M. Packer Co., 45 Mass. App. Ct. 760 (1998)
The Appeals Court ruled that deliberate disregard of a known contractual arrangement intended to secure benefits for the breaching party warranted the imposition of multiple damages and legal fees under c. 93A, §11.
J.P. Construction Co., Inc. v. Stateside, 45 Mass. App. Ct. 920 (1998)
The Appeals Court approved award of legal fees to a subcontractor under c. 149, §29 in an amount that exceeded the principal recovery. The Court ruled legal fees under the statute were not limited to a percentage of recovery.
Vassallo v. Baxter, 428 Mass 1 (1998)
The Supreme Judicial Court reversed prior decisional law by ruling a manufacturer may not be held liable for failing to warn of product risks leading to injury except where those risks were reasonably foreseeable or discoverable at the time of sale. Under earlier decisions, manufacturers were held strictly liable for failure to warn even where it could not reasonably have foreseen the risk of injury.
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