The doctrines of adverse possession and prescriptive easements often arise when there is a boundary dispute. At first blush, the two claims appear quite similar because a claimant of adverse possession and a prescriptive easement must prove many of the same elements....
Trees are a precious resource – they provide shade, show the turning of the seasons, and beautify they land on which they live. They can also prove to be at the center of disputes between neighbors, particularly when trees on one’s land have been cut down without the...
Increasingly, tools like Google Earth, which can show property changes over time, can serve as powerful evidence in adverse possession and other real estate cases. Recently, the Land Court issued a ruling on using satellite images as evidence, allowing a motion to...
In a recent unpublished opinion, Mackey v. Santander Bank, N.A., the Appeals Court vacated the Superior Court’s decision to declare valid a mortgage on a former marital home after the mortgagor, Santander Bank, was provided with a trustee certificate by the...
Earlier this month, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy signed into law an amendment to the Registered Land Act that will allow owners of registered land to withdraw from the cumbersome Land Registration System. In Massachusetts, there are two title systems for land:...
In Massachusetts, the Prompt Pay Act provides protections to subcontractors who perform work pursuant to certain construction contracts. Under the Act, contractors are required to approve or reject payment applications by subcontractors within specified time limits...
A party’s right to appeal a decision from a zoning board is governed by Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40A, Section 17. Only a “person aggrieved” by a decision of a zoning board has standing to appeal it. The appeal is one made by filing a complaint in the Land...
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...
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...
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...
