In what must have been a truly bad day for two lessees of property on Conomo Point, the Appeals Court determined in Brian M. Touher v. Town of Essex that the two buildings at issue had become the property of the Town of Essex, and were not property of the purported...
Year: 2015
MERS Chalks Up Another Win
Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., more commonly known as MERS, has yet again has it practice of declining to record assignments of notes among banking institutions in local registries of deeds upheld by a court. The Montgomery County, Pennsylvania,...
“Let’s Talk About The Wall” – Good Fences Don’t Necessarily Make Good Neighbors, Part III
More in the continuing saga of the Thetford, Vermont zoning dispute involving the 60-foot-by-24-foot partition erected by Ruth Dwyer to block her view of her neighbor, Patrick Perry’s house. She objects to seeing her neighbors mow their lawn, the light from their...
New Requirements For Foreclosing Mortgagees Courtesy of the Supreme Judicial Court
Mortgagees beware – the Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that a foreclosing entity must strictly comply with the provisions of the mortgage which delineate the notice of default to homeowners. This case extends the rule, set out in United States Bank Nat'l Ass'n v....
Land Court Exercises Discretion to Protect Homeowners in Tax Title Foreclosure
Did you know that, for failure to pay as little as a few hundred dollars in municipal real property taxes, you could lose your home and all the equity in it? Most people don’t, which makes a new case out of the Land Court that much more important. The statutory...
Farm Weddings: An Illegal Rural Tradition?
If your friends and family have been telling you for years that your farm would be an idyllic wedding spot, make sure you check your town’s zoning bylaws before you set up the big top and roll out the lace bunting. In its recent 4-1 decision of Forster d/b/a...
Town’s Ban on Alcohol at Adult Entertainment Venues Fails Judicial Review
Where a town bylaw would prevent the sale of alcohol at a showing of the musical Hair or the play Equus at a theater located in an adult entertainment overlay district, the bylaw is impermissibly overbroad and cannot stand, the Supreme Judicial Court said today in...
First Circuit Considering Certification of Defective Mortgage Notary Clause Issue to SJC
There is a First Circuit Court of Appeals case, Bank of America, N.A. v. Debora A. Casey, Chapter 7 Trustee for Alvaro M. Pereira (1st Cir. Case No. 14-2115), on appeal from the U.S. District Court (MA), which raises interesting issues concerning defective notary...
Is A Wall Just A Wall, Or Is It A Structure?
When is a wall just a wall, and when is a wall a structure? In the recent decision of O'Connell v. Vainisi, LCR (May 29, 2015), the Land Court considered this question under the Cohasset zoning bylaw. Specifically, the Court considered the Plaintiffs' objection to...
Supreme Judicial Court Eliminates Sovereign Immunity for Certain Property-Related Declaratory Judgment Actions
While the Commonwealth enjoys sovereign immunity from suits in many cases, today the Supreme Judicial Court in Walter E. Fernald Corp. v. Governor, SJC-11801 (May 29, 2015) limited its ability to avoid litigation in respect to challenges to ownership of parcels of...