Would You Pay $5M for This Property?
With its windowless peeling brick facade, the former VFW hall tucked behind the subway station in South Boston’s Andrew Square seems like an unlikely locus for a high-stakes legal battle.
Serving Up a Smorgasbord of Housing Incentives
How much new and rehabilitated housing can $5.16 billion and a number of Zoning Act changes buy? We will find out over the next five years.
She Got $0 from Condo Sale. Supreme Court to Weigh Fairness
Massachusetts is among roughly a dozen states and the District of Columbia that allow local jurisdictions to keep the excess money from the sale of a property where back taxes are owed. That practice is now under scrutiny.
Future of Rent Acceleration Clauses in Doubt
Commercial leases typically give landlords several rights and remedies when tenants default. But for some landlords these remedies are not enough, so they add rent acceleration as an additional remedy.
SJC Decision Knocks Back Frivolous Abutter Lawsuits
Justices made clear that 40B developments were covered by a provision of Housing Choice meant to deter anti-development abutter lawsuits, and set boundaries on how it could be used.
Ex-BPDA Head Golden to Lead New Real Estate Practice
Former Boston Planning and Development Agency Director Brian Golden will lead a newly-created real estate permitting practice at a Boston law firm.
No Room for Ambiguity in ‘Build to Suit’ Leases
The economics of “build to suit” leases are simple enough. But the process of carrying them out is a whole other matter. Here’s what landlords and tenants need to know.
Wetlands Violation Trips Up New Owner
The statute does not bar enforcement actions against subsequent buyers of the land, even if no enforcement action was brought against any prior buyer within the three-year period.
Why Developments Requiring Municipal Relief Face Delays
More than one year into the novel coronavirus pandemic, we’ve all had to overcome some hurdles along the way. As a commercial real estate attorney, my clients seeking to develop vacant land have encountered additional delays that they would not have otherwise experienced in a pre-pandemic world.
City Must Pay Property Owner in Underway Eminent Domain Case
In a case of first impression, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled last month in Abuzahra v. City of Cambridge that property owners can accept partial payments from government bodies for eminent domain takings, while simultaneously challenging the lawfulness of the takings.
Take Your Neighbor to Court? It’s Not That Simple in Mass.
The following scenario is not uncommon in Massachusetts: An abutter awakens one morning to find a building under construction next door. The building violates local zoning regulations. But before the abutter can run to the courthouse, they must carefully go through several, not necessarily obvious steps.
Real Estate Attorney Liable Under Successor Liability
Would you have any recourse if you win a money judgement against a business whose owner quickly files for bankruptcy and starts a new business under a similar name, using the same assets to provide the same services to the same customers?
State’s Highest Court Reverses Key Abutter Rights Ruling
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court handed the development industry and housing advocates a victory Friday when it reversed a lower court ruling that gave broad rights for abutters to sue over nearby development projects.
