restriction

  • March 12, 2024

Mass. SJC adopts “totality of the circumstances” test to determine whether municipal land is held for a specific purpose

Article 97, Prior Public Use Doctrine, Real Estate
Authors:
Practice area:
Industries:

In its recent decision in Carroll v. Select Board of Norwell (pdf), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) reaffirmed that where town-owned land is held for a specific purpose, M.G.L. c. 40, § 15A dictates that it cannot be diverted to another inconsistent use until the “board or officer having charge” of the land determines it is no longer needed for that specific purpose. In so ruling the SJC added a test to determine whether such land is being held for a specific purpose. While past cases indicated that, in addition to a legislative act, a recorded instrument restricting the parcel’s use was required, Carroll clarifies that courts must examine the “totality of the circumstances” to determine if land has been held for a specific purpose.

In Carroll, residents of Norwell (the Town) – lobbied by neighbors of the Town land at issue – voted at the 2021 Town Meeting to transfer a Town-owned parcel to the

Continue Reading...
  • January 19, 2023

Mass. SJC: $3.5 Million Payday for Torrent of Errant Golf Balls Not a Fore-Gone Conclusion

Easements, Land Use, Restrictions
Authors:
Practice area:
Industries:

A Kingston couple was dealt a significant blow days before Christmas when the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) set aside a jury verdict awarding them $3.5 million in damages for errant golf balls hitting their property. In Tenczar v. Indian Pond Country Club, Inc. (pdf), the SJC ruled that the trial judge erred in his jury instructions concerning easements applicable to the property. The plaintiffs’ home was subject to an easement providing for the “reasonable and efficient operation” of a golf course in the “customary and usual manner,” but the trial judge didn’t present to the jury the question of whether the golf course’s operation met that standard. So the question remains, how many errant shots on the 15th hole at the Indian Pond Country Club are reasonable?

The Kingston Planning Board endorsed a subdivision plan in the fall of 1998 for a residential development surrounding a golf course. The subdivision developer, Indian Pond, recorded a declaration of covenants and restrictions shortly

Continue Reading...