Issues concerning ownership and property boundaries may be brought before the Massachusetts Land Court to decide. In an October 10, 2019 Massachusetts real estate case, multiple parties brought competing claims regarding their respective rights to a section of marshland on the coast of a peninsula. The parties involved in the case…
If someone has interfered with your easement or property rights, you may have legal recourse. In a September 19, 2019 Massachusetts real estate case, the plaintiffs filed an action against their neighbors in Land Court claiming that their property had the benefit of an easement over their neighbors’ property. Specifically,…
There are several ways in which limitations may be imposed in Massachusetts property rights matters. Some examples include local zoning bylaws, which may regulate aspects such as how far a structure must be set back from the street, and public easements, which may prevent the property owner from blocking off…
A homeowner may file an action to quiet title in order to claim their ownership rights of the property in question. In a September 4, 2019 Massachusetts property case, the plaintiffs brought an action in Land Court claiming ownership of a way that lined one side of their property. The…
The public generally enjoys an easement of travel over all public roads. In rare circumstances, the public may also have a right to use a private way. However, such a right does not include the broad rights of a public road. In an August 21, 2019 Massachusetts real estate case,…
Massachusetts property transfers involve legal considerations that, if not taken into account, may have unintended consequences. A July 3, 2019 case before the Appeals Court of Massachusetts illustrates how some of these issues may arise. The case centered around the parties’ oral agreement for the purchase and sale of a…
In Massachusetts, there are two systems of tracking property title records. Recorded land makes up the majority of property title record keeping, while a smaller percentage of properties in Massachusetts are governed by the registered land system. Massachusetts guarantees title to registered land and as such, the requirements to register land…
In many adverse possession cases, the plaintiffs’ claim to property arises from a long-held, yet mistaken, belief that they own the land at issue. This situation was presented in a May 28, 2019 Massachusetts real estate case before the Land Court. The plaintiffs in the case filed an action against…
An easement is a property right that may, in some situations, be abandoned or extinguished by law. In a May 2, 2019 Massachusetts real estate case, the Land Court considered whether the defendant held an easement over an area abutting its property. The area in dispute was a “paper way”,…
An easement allows a person the legal right to use another person’s land for a specific and limited purpose. If someone interferes with that right, the easement holder may request that the court to issue an injunction prohibiting such interference. In an April 5, 2019 Massachusetts real estate case, the…