Experienced litigator in Superior, Land, Probate, Appellate and District courts
Representative cases
Mazzola v. O’Brien, In October 2021, the Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld the Essex Superior Court’s verdict in favor of clients’ right to drive an all-terrain vehicle to Wingaersheek Beach, as they have done for nearly 60 years without any harm to the environment. The case turned on interpreting the language in the relevant deeds.
Estate of Jacqueline Ann Kendall v. MassHealth, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Groundbreaking case determining right of MassHealth to collect money from an estate. Court ruled in favor of Attorney Fine’s clients on December 28, 2020, saying that MassHealth has only three years to file a claim on an estate.
Private arbitration (2021). Successfully represented condominium trustees against a unit owner’s claim to common area.
Woytkiewicz v. Hamilton et al, Middlesex Family & Probate Court. Set a new legal standard for performing DNA test on a deceased parent.
Cape Ann Marina LLC et al v. Boston Business Services Inc. et al, Essex Superior Court. Pierced the corporate veil to recover 100% of client’s loss resulting from theft by its payroll company.
Donald B.Corner et al v. T. Ewell Hopkins. Jr., Member of the Oak Bluffs Planning Board et al, Land Court. Represented owners of a historic commercial building in downtown Oak Bluffs in their challenge of permits for a project across the street.
In the Matter of Michael J. O’Brien, Essex Family & Probate Court. An early test of the priority of claims under the new Uniform Probate Code.