Christopher Tolley

Meeting Your Business And Personal Legal Needs
Your needs are our needs. Your goals are our goals. We strive to provide our clients the best representation we can, employing rigorous legal analysis and considerable experience to develop client relationships where we consistently deliver success. From common to complex legal issues we seek solutions that are creative, inventive, even counter-intuitive – but always practical.

Our areas of practice include:

Debt Collection Regulation - Federal and Massachusetts
Construction Supplier Litigation
Real estate transactions – buying, selling, mortgages title issues, title insurance
Commercial and Consumer Collections
Commercial And Consumer Mortgage Foreclosures
Personal injury
Chapter 7 and 13 for Individuals and Small Businesses
Bankruptcy and creditors’ rights litigation

Focus and Determination
We are diligent and proactive, thorough and meticulous. We expends the time and resources necessary to fully address our clients’ needs. As a small office, we give our clients’ matters personal attention.

Collaboration and Litigation
We have the experience and judgment to employ negotiation, collaboration and strategic concession as needed, as well as the flexibility to abandon either friendly or hostile approaches to meet evolving needs.

Keeping You Informed
You are our partner and employer. Your understanding of what we are doing and why is critical to our success. We keep you informed so you can advise us on whether we are performing according to your goals, needs and wants. We are always here to answer questions.

Part of a Team
The Phillips & Angley culture of mutual support and collaboration means I and my clients can call on the additional wealth of experience and acumen of my colleagues.

Please call me at 617-367-8787 or email at ctolley@phillips-angley.com to learn more.

Phillips & Angley
1 Washington St. Suite 7A
Boston, MA 02108

YOUR GOALS ARE OUR GOALS. YOUR NEEDS ARE OUR NEEDS.

Consumer Law

Class Action, Lemon Law

Construction Law

Construction Contracts, Construction Defects, Construction Liens, Construction Litigation

Real Estate Law

Commercial Real Estate, Condominiums, Easements, Eminent Domain, Homeowners Association, Land Use & Zoning, Mortgages, Neighbor Disputes, Residential Real Estate, Water Law

Collections

Bankruptcy

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Debt Relief

Personal Injury

Animal & Dog Bites, Brain Injury, Car Accidents, Construction Accidents, Motorcycle Accidents, Premises Liability, Truck Accidents, Wrongful Death

• Free Consultation
  Initial consultation and discussion of your legal matter is free.
• Contingent Fees
• Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
  I work almost exclusively on an hourly basis. For certain matters I accept flat fees. I accept contingent fees only after consultation and investigation.

Massachusetts

Since 1986

1st Circuit

Board of Governors, Mill Corner COndominium Association

Current

Town of Acton Planning Board, Former Chairman, Former Member

Current

Suffolk University Law School

J.D. (1986)

Bowdoin College

B.A. (1981)

American Bar Association

Current

Real Estate Bar Association

Current

Massachusetts State Bar  # 548180

Member

1986 - Current

Q. Signed contract in Oct 2021 with two contractors (partners) for home addition. No timeline specified.

June 2, 2023

A: If you feel the partners will not pay and you do not trust them to finish the work, it may be time to complete the work by hiring someone else and consult a lawyer about collecting the completion costs. You would argue the partners have breached the contract and that you are entitled to damages in the form of your cost to complete the work and to correct any defective work. If the amount you seek is less than $7,000, you may wish to proceed in small claims court. The partners should be certified home improvement contractors and you should have signed a form home improvement contract. If so, once you obtain a judgment you can seek to collect it through the home improvement contractor guaranty fund. https://www.mass.gov/how-to/apply-for-the-home-improvement-guaranty-fund

Q. We stopped paying our mortgage when the servicing company messed up. That was 2011, has staute of limitations run out on

April 17, 2023

A: The statute of limitations for a suit on a promissory note in Massachusetts is six years from the date of breach and the limitations period can be extended by part payment. If you stopped paying more than six years ago and did not subsequently make partial payments, and there was nothing that would toll the limitations period like being in bankruptcy or residing out of state, then the limitations period would have expired. I believe there may be a case stating this but I could not quickly lay me hands on it.

Q. How do I get a redemption for a real estate tax taking in Massachusetts?

April 13, 2023

A: If the tax title amount has been paid, the town is required to issue a redemption. The town is permitted, but not required , to request the recording fee for recording the certificate as a condition of providing the certificate, and then must record the certificate. I believe the recording fee for such a certificate would be $105. If the town only provides you with the certificate and will not record it, I suggest you contact the registry of deeds where the land lies for instructions on recording. If this is in connection with a sale or a refinance that you expect to go forward shortly, give the certificate to the closing attorney and ask him/her to record it with the other documents. Whenever I have requested redemption certificates the town or city has delivered the certificate to me and I have recorded it.

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