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Real property – Adverse possession
Where a defendant has claimed ownership of a disputed strip of land, he is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law because he and his predecessors have obtained title to the disputed area by adverse possession, having proven nonpermissive use that has been actual, open, notorious, exclusive and continuous for more than 20 years.
Real property – Right of way
Where a judgment was entered in Land Court concerning various sections of North Street in Edgartown, the judgment should be vacated except to the extent that it determines that the plaintiffs own a section of North Street referred to as Area C by adverse possession, but do not so own the section referred to as Area B.
Easter egg hunts fuel homeowner’s adverse possession claim
A Land Court judge ruled a Scituate homeowner gained title by adverse possession to a narrow strip of land used for decades around an “Old Tree.”
Real property – Adverse possession – Easter egg hunts
Where a defendant has claimed title to a cleared lawn area, the defendant has proven successfully that she has acquired title by adverse possession only to a landscaped and mulched area under and around a large deciduous tree.
Real property – Adverse possession
Where plaintiffs claimed adverse possession over a strip of land between their property and a neighboring property belonging to the defendants, a judgment granting the plaintiffs title to a triangular portion at the eastern end of the strip in the vicinity of their swimming pool, but not the rest of the strip, should be affirmed because the record contains sufficient evidence to support the judge'[...]
Real property – Adverse possession
Where an adverse possession claim has been asserted by the defendant owners of 80 Kendall Lane in Natick, they have obtained by adverse possession all areas on 1 H.F. Brown Way that are adjacent to 80 Kendall Lane but west of a wooded buffer, subject to an easement benefiting 1 H.F. Brown Way for an underground sewer line.
Evidence – Satellite images – Authentication
Where plaintiffs claiming adverse possession have moved to strike two satellite photographs introduced by the defendant, that motion should be allowed because the defendant has failed to authenticate the photographs.
Real property – Adverse possession
Where a complaint was filed alleging that two defendants have trespassed on 714 Horseneck Road in Westport, one of the defendants has acquired title to portions of the property by adverse possession, but she and her codefendant have trespassed on other, unacquired parts of 714 Horseneck.
Real property – Adverse possession
Where a judge found in favor of the plaintiff in a dispute over the ownership of a farmhouse, the judgment must be reversed because evidence was insufficient to support the plaintiff’s claim of title by adverse possession.
Real property – Adverse possession
Where the plaintiff trustees of the Brewster Conservation Trust have alleged encroachments by the defendant owner of an adjacent campground, the plaintiffs are entitled to judgment in their favor because the defendant has not carried its burden to establish that it adversely possessed the areas in dispute for a 20-year period predating Nov. 4, 1991.
Real property – Adverse possession
Where a defendant has asserted an adverse possession counterclaim, judgment should enter in his favor, as “the combination of regular yard maintenance with the installation of permanent or semi-permanent structures satisfy the element of actual use” of the disputed area.
Real property – Adverse possession – Trespass
Where a trespass complaint has been filed concerning a “disputed way,” the plaintiffs have obtained by adverse possession of some, but not all, of the disputed way.
Verdicts & Settlements
- Injury during baby’s adenoidectomy leads to stroke
- Construction worker’s hand caught in cement mixer
- Worker trapped in freezer, dies during steam cleaning
- Pedestrian, 69, hit by motor vehicle while in crosswalk
- Four-vehicle pileup leaves driver with spinal cord injury
- Nursing home staff blamed for kidney-failure death
- Pharmacy’s late delivery blamed for patient’s death
- Man, 25, drowns after swimming lesson at fitness club
Opinion Digests
- Jurisdiction – Forum selection clause – Non-signatory
- Criminal – Responsibility
- Attorneys – Lien
- Landlord and tenant – Default judgment
- Zoning – Constructive grant – Comprehensive permit
- Fraud – False Claims Act – Settlement share
- Civil practice – Discovery – Cybersecurity
