Just about a year ago, in Connors v. Annino, 460 Mass. 790 (2011), the Supreme Judicial Court left no doubt that an abutter receiving "adequate notice" of issuance of a building permit must act fast (within thirty days of the issue date) to appeal the permit as violative of the local zoning code - and a zoning enforcement action brought pursuant to G.L. c. 40A, Sec. 7 will not be available to revive such a claim during the far longer six-year "repose" period set forth in that statute.
Subcontractors Beware: General Contract's Fine Print May Govern Your Contract Too.
The Supreme Judicial Court recently exhorted subcontractors to make sure they know the terms of general contracts before agreeing to import them in a wholesale fashion into their own subcontract.