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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
May 28, 20202 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...
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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
May 28, 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...
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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
May 28, 20201 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...
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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Apr 29, 20202 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...
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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Apr 29, 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...
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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Apr 29, 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,...
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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Apr 29, 20201 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...
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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Mar 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...
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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Mar 30, 20202 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...
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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Mar 30, 20201 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...
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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Mar 30, 20202 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...
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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Feb 21, 20201 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...
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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...
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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Feb 21, 20202 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...
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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...
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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Feb 21, 20202 min read
The Pesticide Control Act Does Not Preempt a Municipality’s Authority to Enforce Its Wetlands Bylaw
A recent Berkshire County Superior Court decision, Stockbridge Bowl Association, Inc. v. Town of Stockbridge Conservation Commission,...
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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Jan 21, 20201 min read
Rapid Fire Update - January 2020
New IGR Regarding Community Preservation Fund The Community Preservation Act has been the subject of considerable interpretation and...
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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Jan 21, 20201 min read
January 2020 News & Events
Happy 2020! Whether you agree that the new decade started this month or doesn’t start until January 2021, we hope that you will agree...
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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Jan 21, 20202 min read
Clamping Down on PFAS: MassDEP Finalizes Waste Site Cleanup Standards
Clamping Down on PFAS: MassDEP Finalizes Waste Site Cleanup Standards and Proposes Drinking Water Standards MassDEP’s march forward on...
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Miyares and Harrington, LLP
Jan 21, 20202 min read
New Ethics Commission Advisory on Gifts and Gratuities
The State Ethics Commission recently issued a new advisory on the kinds of gifts and gratuities a public employee may receive under...