Monthly Archives

June 2020
  • June 30, 2020

Wrong Procedure Costs City $1 Million Judgment Against Developer it Fined for Building Without Permits

Construction, Zoning
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In a striking blow, stripping a city of a judgment of nearly $1 million, the Massachusetts Appeals Court recently reversed a superior court summary judgment awarding fines to the City of Haverhill for a developer’s violations of zoning laws. The city assessed the fines against the developer under the state building code and the local zoning bylaw for building without necessary permits. In Maroney v. Planning Board of Haverhill, the Appeals Court held that the city’s building inspector did not follow the required procedures to impose fines.

The developer, Maroney, had a special permit and subdivision plan approval for a 50‑lot residential subdivision, both of which required him to build a water pressure booster station to service certain lots in the subdivision. The developer built much of the subdivision, in conformance with the process outlined by the city, on lots that the water department considered serviceable. When Maroney attempted to go forward with development of lots that the water department considered

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  • June 23, 2020

Under Massachusetts Obsolete Mortgage Statute, Mortgage Payable “On Demand” is Enforceable for 35 Years

Mortgages
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The Massachusetts Appeals Court decided last week that a mortgage stating it is payable “on demand,” with no maturity date or term, is governed by the so-called obsolete mortgage statute, M.G.L. c. 260, § 33. The case is Thornton v. Thornton and a link to the decision is here. The obsolete mortgage statute is designed to help remove old mortgages from land titles. It sets a term of 35 years from the mortgage recording date if the mortgage has no term or maturity date, or five years from the end of any stated term or maturity date. The time to enforce a mortgage can be extended by recording an affidavit that the mortgage is not satisfied, among other methods. As the Appeals Court has confirmed in Thornton, the obsolete mortgage statute cannot shorten the term of any mortgage. In this case, the related note did have a maturity date, but there was no reference to

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  • June 10, 2020

First Circuit Compressor Station Decision Vacates DEP Air Permit, Addresses Environmental Justice and Noise Issues

Environmental
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On June 3, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated an air permit issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and remanded the matter to the agency for further analysis. The case is Town of Weymouth v. Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. The First Circuit’s decision is linked here.

The case involves a fiercely opposed compressor station planned for existing industrial property in Weymouth, Massachusetts. This compressor is critical to Algonquin Gas Transmission’s Atlantic Bridge project, which will move natural gas from the Boston area to a new connection in Beverly, Massachusetts, to then be transported to consumers in New Hampshire, Maine, and New Brunswick.

The Town of Weymouth and other petitioners challenged many aspects of the air permit, and succeeded in forcing DEP to revisit its BACT (best available control technology) analysis. My colleagues Randy Rich and Emily Dupraz discuss the environmental and energy law implications of the decision

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