In real estate, land use, and environmental cases, experts can often make or break your case. Once hired, experts are usually involved at every stage of the litigation. One of the first things an expert should do is visit the site to gain firsthand knowledge of the...
Real Estate Law
Massachusetts Appeals Court Answers Two Commonly Asked Real Estate Law Questions: (1) When Are the Rights In Property Effectively Transferred? and (2) If a Private Road Separates Two Properties, Who Owns the Road?
In Trustees of Boston College v. NCDS of the Sacred Heart, Inc., the Appeals Court addressed each of these questions and provided a comprehensive overview of principles and doctrines commonly invoked by parties in connection with their claims to rights in a way that...
Land Court Invalidates Town’s Affordable Housing Regulations
In a January 4, 2024 decision, the Massachusetts Land Court in Estate of Virginia L. Isola v. Town of Stoneham struck down provisions of the Bylaws of the Town of Stoneham that had required proposed subdivisions of land to set aside a portion of their lots for...
Massachusetts Zoning Act Empowers Abutters
Adopted in 1975, the Massachusetts Zoning Act (“Zoning Act”) provides a set of statewide standards that govern municipalities’ promulgation and enforcement of zoning regulations. Yet for homeowners looking to renovate, the Zoning Act can make it easier than one would...
Doing More with Less: In Zoning Board of Appeals of Milton v. HD/MW Randolph Avenue, LLC, et. al., the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Affirms a Judgment by the Housing Appeals Committee to Strike Down Restrictions in a Comprehensive Permit that Made an Affordable Housing Project Significantly More Uneconomic
In 2014, the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency (“MassHousing”) issued a project eligibility letter to developer HD/MW Randolph Avenue, LLC (“HD/MW”) for a ninety unit, mixed-income residential development in Milton. The letter qualified HD/MW to apply to the Milton...
Condominium Trust, Management Company, and Concierge Services Provider Have to Duty of Care to Protect Residents from Foreseeable Crimes
The Superior Court recently held a condominium trust, condominium property management company, and concierge services provider owed residents a duty of care to protect against foreseeable crime by third parties who enter through common areas. Dr. Richard Field and Dr....
What Happens When A Party To A Petition For Partition (Holding Title As Joint Tenant) Dies During Its Pendency?
Co-owners of real estate who no longer want to share title may file a petition for partition. If the property cannot be physically divided, the partition may be done in one of two ways: either one party buys out the interest of the other or the property is sold and...
Zoning Loss for Cannabis Business Due to Predicted “Undue Traffic Congestion”
As part of the recent explosion in cannabis facilities in Massachusetts, in around 2020 Nova Farms sought four special permits from the City of Attleboro. Two of the permits would have enabled Nova Farms to establish a cannabis retail business and a Medical Marijuana...
Statue of Repose Precludes Wrongful Death Claim Filed Within Three Years of Death But More Than Six Years After Installation of Water Heater
M.G.L.c. 260, § 2B, also known as a statute of repose, governs tort claims arising from improvements made to real property. The statute of repose was passed to protect providers “of individual expertise” in the business of planning, constructing, and administering...
SJC Concludes That Short-Term Rental Homeowner’s Duty Did Not Extend to Protecting Decedent from Harm Caused by Third Party
Over Memorial Day weekend in 2016, the defendant rented out his property to Woody Victor and five friends for what was supposed to be a college reunion party. Instead, the pool party attracted over one hundred attendees and around 3 AM, the police received a report...
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