HELMUT FLOESSER v. BELMONT INSTRUMENT CORP. & Others., 24-P-0227

Helmut Floesser, a former employee and consultant for Belmont Instrument Corp., purchased 22,000 shares in the company under an equity plan between 2007 and 2015.
In 2017, the company issued a cash dividend and later engaged in a merger; Floesser was not paid dividends and was only compensated for 18,000 of his 22,000 shares despite requesting payment for all.
Floesser sued Belmont, alleging breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.
A jury verdict found in favor of Floesser on both claims.
Belmont appealed, citing alleged errors related to a late-disclosed rebuttal witness, claimed misstatements of law during closing arguments, and alleged cumulative prejudicial error.
The Appeals Court affirmed the jury's verdict for Floesser.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admission of Late-Disclosed Rebuttal Witness	Proper notice given, no prejudice, disclosure timely	Witness disclosed too late, unfair surprise/prejudice	No abuse of discretion, testimony allowed
Curative Instructions on Misstatement of Law	No misstatement; judge's instructions cured any issue	Closing mischaracterized breach of fiduciary duty law	No error or prejudice, instructions sufficient
Cumulative Error	No cumulative error since no single error existed	Combination of errors requires reversal	No cumulative error, judgment affirmed

Eagan v. Marr Scaffolding Co., 14 Mass. App. Ct. 1036 (standards for admitting late-disclosed witnesses)
Commonwealth v. Trapp, 423 Mass. 356 (judge’s discretion for late-disclosed witnesses)
Laramie v. Philip Morris USA Inc., 488 Mass. 399 (reviewing facts in light most favorable to prevailing party)
Blank v. Chelmsford Ob/Gyn, P.C., 420 Mass. 404 (bad faith failure to pay as potential breach of fiduciary duty)
Merriam v. Demoulas Super Mkts., Inc., 464 Mass. 721 (framework for fiduciary duty breaches)
Commonwealth v. Ridley, 491 Mass. 321 (presumption jury follows judge’s instructions)