Taplin v. Town of Chatham

This personal injury action against the town of Chatham and two town employees is based on a claim that the negligence of the individual defendants caused the conscious suffering and death of Richard J. Taplin, the plaintiff’s intestate. A judge in the Superior Court allowed the defendants’ motion to dismiss. Because the judge received affidavits in connection with that motion, the motion properly should have been treated as a motion for summary judgment. Mass. R. Civ. P. 12 (b), 365 Mass. 754 (1974). See White v. Peabody Constr. Co., 386 Mass. 121, 126-127 (1982). We conclude that the action…