MA Land Court Interprets Overlapping Zoning Definitions for Hot Tubs and Swimming Pools

This post was authored by Amy Lavine, Esq.

A Massachusetts case decided in August considered the Town of Nantucket’s zoning definitions for “hot tub/spa” and “swimming pool.” Specifically, the zoning code defined a “hot tub/spa” as a structure with less than 150 square feet of surface area and more than two feet of depth, while a “swimming pool” was defined as a structure either with more than 150 square feet of surface area or containing more than 1,000 gallons of water. The definition created a dilemma because of the structure “could at the same time have less than 150 square

Garland has ‘multiple options’ for handling Pence classified records probe, former officials say

Attorney General Merrick Garland has “multiple options” for handing an investigation into former Vice President Mike Pence’s improper retention of classified records, and former officials and legal experts told Fox News Digital that he is “not obligated” to establish another special counsel.

Pence informed Congress on Tuesday that he discovered documents with classified markings in his Carmel, Indiana, home on Jan. 16 from his time as vice president.

BIDEN, TRUMP, PENCE UNDER SCRUTINY FOR CLASSIFIED RECORDS, POTENTIALLY COMPLICATING 2024 WHITE HOUSE BIDS

Pence informed the National Archives on Jan. 18 of a small number of potentially classified documents found in

Police beat Tire Nichols for three minutes

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — An attorney for the family of a Black man who died at a hospital three days after a confrontation with police during a traffic stop said Monday that video of the encounter shows it was “violent” and “troublesome on every level.”

Attorney Ben Crump said during a news conference that the footage of Tire Nichols’ Jan. 7 arrest “is appalling. It is deplorable. It is heinous.”

Crump, who viewed the video along with Nichols’ family and their other lawyers earlier Monday, said it reminded them of the infamous video of the Los Angeles police beating of

UCLA Extension’s Annual Land Use Conference This Week

UCLA Extension’s annual Land Use Law and Planning Conference is the leading networking event and source of information on California land use legislation, case law, and the emerging issues that frame land use and development practices in the nation’s most popular state.

The program’s unique cross-disciplinary approach explores the full range of perspectives drawn from land use planning, legal, development, and environmental communities, and demonstrates how these factors influence the day-to-day work of planners, developers, environmental regulators, and attorneys .

Now in its 37th year, the UCLA Extension conference offers a big-picture view of land use law and planning practice,

Lok – Fall 2022 – MJEAL

SEC Focus on Climate Change Risk and Disclosure

Kathleen Lok


As environmental concerns continue to research, investors and companies have continued to contend with how to report the impact of climate related risks on their business. Currently, the SEC does not require any specific environmental risk reporting, and instead bases disclosures on materiality.[1] This lack of a standardized framework gives companies much discretion to decide what environmental and climate-related information they choose to report, which is often done through voluntary sustainability reports.[2] A 2022 survey by Deloitte showed that more than two-thirds of public companies with over $500 million in

TWIST BIOSCIENCE SHAREHOLDER ALERT BY FORMER LOUISIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL: KAHN SWICK & FOTI, LLC REMINDS INVESTORS WITH LOSSES IN EXCESS OF $100,000 of Lead

NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (“KSF”) and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr.reminding investors that they have until February 10, 2023 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Twist Bioscience Corporation (NasdaqGS: TWST), if they purchased the Company’s shares between December 13, 2019 and November 14, 2022, inclusive (the “Class Period”). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Californian.

KSF (PRNewsfoto/Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC)

What You May Do

If you purchased shares of Twist and

Chackalackal – Spring 2022 – MJEAL

Climate Torts Against Big Agriculture

Shanthi Chackalackal


Over the past two decades, the way society has discussed what was once referred to as “global warming” has changed dramatically, becoming “climate change,” “the climate crisis,” and most recently, “the climate emergency.” This new sense of urgency reflects more than just rhetorical flourish; underlying it are the increasingly direct warnings of the scientific community that if governments do not act swiftly to curb carbon emissions, the devastating effects of the climate crisis will become irreversible. In a recent press release, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chair Hoesung Lee emphasized the necessity

Meulemans – Spring 2022 – MJEAL

EV Tax Credits and the Shift Towards Electrification

Kate Meulemans


As Americans begin to shift toward cleaner energy, the demand for electric vehicles has skyrocketed, but not without a similar spike in the political attitude surrounding electric cars. Switching from gas to electric cars is no longer just a fad among progressive elites and is in fact becoming embedded into the mainstream vernacular. But even so, buying a new car solely for fuel efficiency is not something that most people are financially stable enough to do. In this respect, it is important not only to prioritize a political push that