News
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Client Granted Special Permit for Church Rectory Conversion
A Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP client was unanimously granted a special permit by the Zoning Board of Appeals to allow the conversion of the St. Joseph-St. Therese Church rectory into a group residence facility for young women. The owners of the building, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River, are represented by Attorney Peter McNulty from MHTL. The rectory building originally closed in October 2021, and was used to house Parrish priests. Mr. McNulty reported that the program is a joint venture of the Department of Children and Families, and the Old Colony Y called the STARR program. The facility will house a maximum of nine girls, anywhere from age 12 to 18, and provide counseling and other programming focused on education and residency. In response to concerns about the conversion and parking for the facility, Board member Stephen Brown said the proposal “probably was the most minimally invasive use possible. You’re going to put a bunch of kids in there who are not even allowed to drive.”
Formerly corporate counsel at a large Massachusetts Community Bank, Mr. McNulty’s practice is primarily focused on corporate and financial transactional work. Mr. McNulty handles the full spectrum of corporate and real estate matters and has assisted clients with entity formation, real estate transactions, mergers, acquisitions and investments, as well as commercial and residential acquisitions and dispositions. Additionally, he represents and advises various financial institutions on a wide range of topics, including corporate governance, compliance, construction and secured lending, work outs and modifications, bankruptcy and foreclosure, and general litigation.
Mr. McNulty graduated from Suffolk University Law School. During his time in school, Mr. McNulty worked at the Massachusetts Catholic Conference as a non-profit lobbyist. He received his B.A. in Political Science from Boston College and graduated from Dedham High School.
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Partner Prevails in U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Attorney Felicia Vasudevan, a partner at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP, received a favorable decision on behalf of her client, Marshfield Public Schools. The Plaintiff appealed the district court’s judgement that upheld a decision of the Massachusetts Bureau of Special Education Appeals (“BSEA”). However, as the notice was filed more than 30 days after entry, the First Circuit ultimately dismissed the appeal for being untimely. The Plaintiff also appealed the district court’s order, denying her motion to vacate. Read More
New Features of Public Participation at School Committee Meetings
Following our Alert from March 16, 2023, Civility is Dead – The Supreme Court Rules Municipal Control of Public Speak Limited to Reasonable Time/Place/Manner Restrictions, which discussed the holding to the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Barron v. Kolenda and the Town of Southborough (SJC-13284), we promised to bring you more detailed guidance on developing a Public Speak policy for your public body or municipality. The Barron case involved a constitutional challenge to the Town of Southborough’s public comment policy, which attempted to impose a code of civility on members of the public who participated in public comment before public bodies. In Barron, the court interpreted the state constitution to mean that public bodies may request, but not require, that public commentators be respectful and courteous. Instead, a public body may set restrictions on reasonable time, place, and manner comments to ensure that the meeting retains an orderly and peaceable manner.

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