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Real property – Administrative exhaustion – Agricultural land
Where the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources denied an application to build a dwelling, barn and equipment shed on farm land that is subject to an Agricultural Preservation Restriction, the plaintiffs’ complaint must be dismissed because they failed to exhaust their administrative remedies.
Real property – Partition – Legal expenses
Where a plaintiff has objected to a court-appointed special master’s report and recommendation regarding distribution of sale proceeds, the plaintiff should be credited with an adjustment for half of the legal expenses he incurred in defending a Housing Court lawsuit involving conditions at the property.
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.
Judge upholds lis pendens in property dispute
A Superior Court judge ruled that a lis pendens was properly maintained after the seller allegedly reduced the property size before closing.
Real property – P&S agreement – Deposit
Where a plaintiff that entered into a purchase and sale agreement has alleged that the defendant seller presented a deed at closing that described the real estate being conveyed differently than what was set forth in the P&S, the complaint should not be dismissed despite the defendant’s contention that the plaintiff initially breached the P&S by failing to pay the deposit due thereunder and by[...]
Ruling leaves homeowners separated from beach lot
Massachusetts Appeals Court rules derelict fee statute does not apply to Nantasket Beach dispute, ordering judgment for town on quiet title claim.
Real property – Deed
Where a plaintiff has claimed that a 1/3 interest in real property was conveyed to him, he is entitled to a judgment in his favor based on a duly executed 2016 deed.
Real property – Derelict fee statute
Where (1) the plaintiff town of Hull commenced an action seeking to establish and quiet title to an undeveloped part of “Beach Avenue” and (2) a judge determined and declared that the defendants hold the fee title to the disputed area pursuant to the derelict fee statute (G.L.c. 183, §58), the judgment must be vacated because the fee was conveyed to another party in 1887, then to the town in [...]
Real property – Res judicata
Where a defendant has moved to dismiss a complaint, contending that the plaintiff’s claim to sole title to real property was previously adjudicated in Superior Court, the defendant’s motion should be allowed because the plaintiff’s complaint is barred by principles of res judicata.
Real property – Condominium – Outdoor dining
Where the plaintiff resident of a second-floor unit has brought an action to challenge the right of a ground-floor restaurant to continue to operate its outdoor dining service in front of the 75 Chestnut Street Condominium, the restaurant should be awarded summary judgment because the use of the outdoor dining area by the restaurant does not violate the condominium documents.
Real property – Reformation – Mutual mistake
Where a plaintiff has filed a complaint seeking reformation of a deed, a motion to dismiss the complaint should be denied because the plaintiff has stated a claim for reformation based on a scrivener’s error.
Real property – Trespass
Where summary judgment was awarded to plaintiffs who claimed trespass, a motion by the defendant to vacate that judgment should be denied despite her assertion that jurisdiction is lacking and that the plaintiffs no longer have standing now that they have sold their condominium unit.
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
