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There are several competing factors at play when the energy and utility demands of a region increase. In New England, much of those demands can be seen during extreme temperatures, whether it is the heat waves of summer or protracted cold months in winter. In this...
On June 23, 2015, the Supreme Judicial Court handed down its most significant decision in the area of premises liability since 2010. See Sarkisian v. Concept Restaurants, Inc., SJC-11786, 2015 WL 3833877 (Mass. June 23, 2015). In Sarkisian, the court was asked to...
On June 29, 2015, the Appeals Court issued an unpublished 1:28 Decision in the matter of Lamar Whiteco Outdoor Corp. v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Webster, 2015 WL 3938606 (Mass. App. Ct. 2015). Even though a 1:28 Decision is merely persuasive authority (not binding),...
If wrapping your head around the law concerning reconstructing, extending, or altering a pre-existing nonconforming structure wasn't difficult enough already, the Supreme Judicial Court recently felt the need to add yet another layer of complexity for homeowners,...
In my previous post concerning the District Court's decision in Industrial Tower and Wireless, LLC v. Haddad ("ITW v. Haddad"), 2015 WL 2365560 (D. Mass. 2015), I discussed the decision as fitting within a small, but significant, line of cases requiring local boards...
On June 9, 2015, the Massachusetts Appeals Court issued an unpublished 1:28 Decision upholding the Land Court's entry of final judgment for P & A's clients, the plaintiffs, Barbara Hysell and Linda Carlson, as well as awarding attorney's fees based on the...
As previously posted, on May 18, 2015, P & A won summary judgment, under the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 (the "TCA" / "Act"), against the Town of Falmouth Zoning Board of Appeals in Industrial Tower and Wireless, LLC v. Haddad ("ITW v. Haddad"), 2015 WL...
In Christakis v. D'Arc, 471 Mass. 365 (2015), the SJC addressed the interplay between Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code, judicial liens on real property, and the interplay between state and federal law. Specifically, the issue on appeal was "whether judicial liens on...
On May 18, 2015, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Burroughs, J., issued its Memorandum and Order on Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment, allowing summary judgment to enter for P & A's client, Industrial Tower & Wireless,...
We have repeatedly posted about the so-called Derelict Fee Statute, G. L. c. 183, § 58, in the past here at P & A. One aspect of the statute that we have not discussed is the interplay between the statute, which governs ownership of private ways, and the use...