Remember the Kline house in Truro? Near the Edward Hopper house? The one constructed under permits that were issued because the conversion of an existing single-family home into a “habitable studio” and construction a new 8,000+ square foot summer home, situated 200...
Year: 2016
“Build First, Ask Permission Later” Not The Best Plan
Sometimes “act first, ask permission later” isn’t the best course of action, as evidenced by a recent Land Court decision concerning a change to a Gloucester multi-family home. The entire factual history is set forth in detail in the Court’s decision in Gattineri v....
A Brief Synopsis of Recent MA Mortgage-Related Decisions
Several mortgage-related decisions have recently issued from both the Massachusetts federal and state courts. In no particular order, here is a brief synopsis of some of the more interesting ones: In U.S. Bank National Assoc. v. Bolling, 15-P-1259 (Sept. 1, 2016),...
Expanded Subject Matter Jurisdiction of the Appellate Division of the District Court
The Appeals Court has concluded that the Appellate Division of the District Court Department of the Trial Courts has jurisdiction to hear a G.L. c. 40A, § 17 appeal from the District Court, based upon the extension of equity jurisdiction to the district courts over...
Massachusetts Senate Passes Zoning Overhaul
The Massachusetts Senate passed Senate Bill 2311, which would significantly alter zoning law in the Commonwealth, on June 9, 2016, after adopting a number of amendments. The Bill now goes to the House, where Speaker DeLeo has not committed to taking it up before the...
Not a Model of Legislative Clarity, That’s for Sure
The Supreme Judicial Court to the Massachusetts Senate: can you please rephrase? That’s the gist of the Opinion of the Justices to the Senate, SJC-12092, issued May 26, 2016. The Senate had asked the Court to answer the following question: “Does House No. 753...
A New, Albeit Unsuccessful, Case Challenging Attorneys’ Authority to Foreclose on behalf of the Mortgagee
In a new decision, the Supreme Judicial Court has analyzed another provision of the mortgage foreclosure by power of sale statute, G.L. c. 244, § 14, in a challenge by a former homeowner to such a foreclosure sale. Specifically, the Court considered the difference...
Another Bankruptcy Notary Case, But This Time The Bank Prevails
In a recent decision which we hope indicates that the Bankruptcy Court is less open to the bankruptcy trustees’ ever-creative arguments for avoiding mortgages, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts, Eastern Division, recently turned down...
Yes, in MA: Homestead Exemption Successfully Claimed by Holder of the Beneficial Interest in a Resulting Trust
In what appears to be an issue of first impression, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District Of Massachusetts, Western Division, has determined that the beneficiary of a court-imposed resulting trust may claim the homestead exemption in bankruptcy. The...
One Lot, Two Lot, Merged Lot, Undevelopable Lot
It used to be two lots, but now it’s one: in a recent the decision, Cain v. Bd. of Appeals of Wilmington, No. 15-P-575 (Mass. App. Ct. Mar. 25, 2016) (1:28 Decision), the Appeals Court has reiterated that, although a local zoning bylaw may provide greater protection...