Perry, et al. v. Aiello, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-121-17)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us 16-P-1309 Appeals Court SAMUEL D. PERRY & others,[1] trustees,[2] & another[3] vs. VIRGIL AIELLO & others.[4] No. 16-P-1309. Suffolk. May 3, 2017. – September 19, 2017. Present: Kinder, Henry, & Desmond, JJ. Easement. Way, Private. Real Property, Easement, Restrictions. Adverse Possession and Prescription. Practice, Civil, Injunctive relief. Civil action commenced in the Land Court Department on June 11, 2013. The case was heard by Robert B. Foster, J. Diane C. Tillotson for the plaintiffs. Paul Needham for the defendants. HENRY, J. The trustees of the 63 Beacon Street and 64 Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts, Trusts for the Benefit of King’s Chapel (the King’s Chapel trustees); 66 Beacon Street, LLC (LLC); and the DeLuca defendants own abutting properties, and dispute the extent of the rights the DeLuca defendants have in a ten-foot wide passageway which runs between the King’s Chapel property on one side, and the DeLuca and LLC properties on the other side. A judge of the Land Court concluded that a 1947 agreement between the parties’ predecessors in interest is partially enforceable and limits the DeLuca defendants’ use of the portion of the passageway they do not own but over which they have a right of passage. The judge rejected the DeLuca defendants’ assertion that they have acquired by prescription the right to park on the passageway, but concluded that they may temporarily stop a truck in the passageway once per day to load trash and transport it off site. We affirm in part and reverse in part. Background. The DeLuca defendants own four lots in the Beacon Hill section of Boston at 7-17 Charles Street which, since before 1920, have housed DeLuca’s Market, a grocery and wine store. DeLuca’s Market is bounded by Charles Street to the west, Branch Street to the north, 65-66 Beacon Street (owned by the LLC) to the south, and the passageway to the east. Across the passageway is 63-64 Beacon Street, owned by the King’s Chapel trustees, which runs the full length of the passageway and abuts Branch Street to the north and Beacon Street to the south. The LLC property, 65-66 Beacon Street, is bounded by the DeLuca defendants’ property to the north, the passageway to the east, and Beacon Street to the south. The judge found and […]
Perry v. Nemira, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-007-17)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us 15-P-828 Appeals Court DON PERRY vs. ADA NEMIRA & another.[1] No. 15-P-828. Suffolk. October 5, 2016. – January 30, 2017. Present: Meade, Milkey, & Kinder, JJ. Easement. Real Property, Easement, Deed, Adverse possession. Way, Private. Civil action commenced in the Land Court Department on December 21, 2011. The case was heard by Alexander H. Sands, III, J. Andrew S. Lee (Kenneth D. Wacks & Michelle A. McHale also present) for the defendants. Don Perry, pro se. MEADE, J. The plaintiff, Don Perry, and the defendants, Tomas and Ada Nemira,[2] own partially abutting properties known as 9B Maple Lane and 12 Maple Lane, respectively, located in a densely developed residential area of Hull. When the Nemiras fenced off what they believed to be part of their property, controversy arose regarding the parties’ rights in and over three right of ways (ROW) abutting or in the vicinity of the parties’ properties and leading to the public way, formerly known as Center Hill Avenue. Perry commenced this action claiming that (i) the fence blocks his right of ways, (ii) he and his predecessors have incorporated a portion of what have been called ROW 1 and ROW 3 into his front yard, and any rights the Nemiras had in those portions of ROWs 1 and 3 have been extinguished by adverse possession, (iii) he has acquired a prescriptive easement to turn around and park on certain sections of the Nemira property, and (iv) certain boundary lines in the deed description to the Nemira property and on a site plan dated November 24, 2010, are wrong. Perry sought an order to restrain the Nemiras from maintaining a fence on any portion of the disputed ROWs or any portion of Perry’s property. For their part, the Nemiras denied that Perry has acquired any prescriptive rights to use their property or block ROWs 1 and 3. They also denied that their fence blocked Perry’s right of way, and in counterclaims, they contended that Perry has no vehicular right of way over ROW 3 or if he did, it has been extinguished by nonuse. Following a trial, preceded by a view, the judge drafted a careful and detailed decision determining the rights of the parties. The parties’ deeded rights over the ROWs became a […]