Nantasket Beachfront Condominiums, LLC v. Hull Redevelopment Authority (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-058-15)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.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 14-P-222 Appeals Court NANTASKET BEACHFRONT CONDOMINIUMS, LLC vs. HULL REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY. No. 14-P-222. Plymouth. November 7, 2014. – June 5, 2015. Present: Rapoza, C.J., Milkey, & Hanlon, JJ. Contract, Performance and breach, Implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, Damages, Provision for liquidated damages, Termination. Practice, Civil, Summary judgment, Damages, Waiver. Redevelopment Authority. Administrative Law, Conflict of interest. Conflict of Interest. Public Employment, Unethical conduct. State Ethics Commission. Waiver. Damages, Breach of contract, Liquidated damages. Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on February 8, 2012. The case was heard by Robert C. Cosgrove, J., on motions for summary judgment. Brian K. Bowen for the plaintiff. Denise A. Chicoine (Edward S. Englander with her) for the defendant. MILKEY, J. In 2004, plaintiff Nantasket Beachfront Condominiums, LLC (Nantasket) and defendant Hull Redevelopment Authority (authority) entered into a contract for the purchase and development of certain land in Hull. Under that “LAND DISPOSITION AGREEMENT” (LDA), Nantasket was to purchase the land, construct seventy-two units of housing, and develop a new public park. Subsequently, the proposed project encountered robust neighborhood opposition, and this in turn led to significant delays in the anticipated closing. Eventually, the authority terminated the LDA and notified Nantasket that it was retaining as liquidated damages $ 857,500 in deposits that Nantasket had made. This action ensued. In a comprehensive and thoughtful decision, a Superior Court judge ruled in the authority’s favor on summary judgment. He concluded that Nantasket indisputably stood in breach of the LDA, and that the authority was within its rights to terminate the agreement and to retain the deposits. On Nantasket’s appeal, we affirm, albeit on somewhat different grounds. Background.[1] The parties execute the LDA. In order to spur the development of twelve acres of land that it owned, the authority in October of 2003 issued a detailed “Request for Proposals” (RFP). According to the RFP, the property “provides the transition between the [State-owned] . . . Nantasket Beach Reservation and a major residential area of the Town of Hull along Nantasket Avenue.” The RFP set forth a preferred development scenario in which approximately three-quarters of the land would be developed into “primarily passive public open space,” with the rest (approximately three acres) developed as “residential dwelling units, or other uses, as […]
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By: Becca ManningHow would you change the Boston Redevelopment Authority?Candidates for Boston City Council were asked that question at last week's
By: Becca Manning How would you change the Boston Redevelopment Authority? Candidates for Boston City Council were asked that question at last week's
Categories: Arrests Tags: asked, AuthorityCandidates, boston, By Becca, change, City, Council, Last, ManningHow, question at, Redevelopment, week's , Were, Would
Connolly Rails on Boston Redevelopment Authority and Menino
Boston City Councilor and mayoral candidate John Connolly had some harsh words for the Boston Redevelopment Authority and outgoing Mayor Thomas Menino. “Although we have thrived from a development perspective, we are trapped in a system that puts the focus on who you know rather than the merit of your project,” Connolly said at a candidates forum, according to the Boston Herald. “That’s what we need to break and that’s the transparency — we need transparent decision-making within the BRA.” Connolly made the comments during a development-oriented candidates’ forum hosted by the Boston Society of Architects on Wednesday morning. To read the rest of the article, click here. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Salary Increase for Boston Redevelopment Authority Employees
Boston Redevelopment Authority staffers will receive raises for the first time in five years, the Boston Herald reported this week. With a budget separate from the city’s budget, the BRA recently approved 3 percent raises for all employees except for nine senior staff members, including Director Peter Meade and Chief Planner Kairos Shen. The increase puts eight staff members above the $ 100,000 salary level, for a total of 34 BRA employees who make six digits, according to the Herald. BRA spokeswoman Susan Elsbree told the newspaper that the raises represented a cost of living increase. BRA employees have worked without raises since 2008 and even received a pay cut one year, in 2009, the Herald reported. The BRA employs 207 people today—a drop from 2009 when the agency had 268 workers on the payroll. Read more about the increases and see a list of salaries for all BRA employees on the Herald website. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch