Click link to read about our pending cases, and read about our decided cases below:

Gee et al v. Kovalko, Suffolk Superior Court No. 07-00544 (2009 decision), in which we brought claims to quiet title and for trespass on behalf of a Boston landowner against his neighbor.  After a three-day bench trial, we successfully defended against a counterclaim of adverse possession to a strip of land claimed by the abutting owner for a driveway to the rear of his lot.  The Court rejected the claim of adverse possession and affirmed the property lines of record after trial. 

New Century Mortgage Corp. v. Giberson Land Court Dept. Misc. Case No. 06-330244 (2009 decision), in which we obtained a decision on our contested motion for summary judgment that our client, a mortgage lender, was entitled to mortgage reformation to include the one-half title interest of a joint tenant not named in the mortgage.  The defendant retained counsel and vigorously opposed the relief we sought, emphasizing facts suggesting that the insured lender did not come into equity with clean hands.  We nonetheless persuaded the judge to grant the relief we sought on the basis of certain facts the defendant was compelled to admit to during her deposition testimony.

Hobson v. Hobson et al, Land Court Dept. Misc. Case No. 310562 (2008 decision) in which we successfully defended two mortgagees from the Plaintiff’s claim that her signature was forged on a 1995 deed to her son and that she owned title to the property free and clear of the two mortgages that her son entered into.  The case resulted in a three-day bench trial involving a number of witnesses offering conflicting versions of the surrounding circumstances, including testimony from the notary herself that she witnessed a third party signing the deed.  We nonetheless persuaded the Judge that the Plaintiff did in fact sign the deed in question and that, if anything, she may have signed the deed as the result of a misrepresentation that could not be binding on the mortgagees we represented, being innocent bona fide purchasers for value that relied on the notary as proof presumptive that the deed signature was not a forgery.

Emerson v. Reliable Heating, Inc. et al, Suffolk Superior Court No. 05-1833 (2007 decision), in which we defeated a motion for partial summary judgment filed by one of the defendants in a suit in which we represented a landowner who was seeking to recover, pursuant to Mass. G. L. c. 21E, certain environmental response costs that he incurred.  One of the defendants, an environmental engineering firm that investigated the site immediately prior to our client’s purchase, moved for partial summary judgment seeking to limit its liability exposure.  Among other things, we persuaded the Superior Court Judge that a triable issue of fact existed on the question whether the firm owed our client a duty of care under the doctrine of reasonably foreseeable third party reliance.  A global settlement was eventually reached with all defendants.

Ahern v. Town of Easton, et al, Middlesex Superior Court No. 02-5031 (2006 decision), in which we successfully defended our clients’ title and easement rights against a deed interpretation challenge, an adverse possession claim, and an adverse possession under color of title claim brought by the abutting lot owners concerning an ancient paper way.  There was a lengthy trial in the Superior Court involving survey and title experts.   

1318 Commonwealth Avenue Condominium Trust v. Board of Appeal of City of Boston et al, Suffolk Superior Court No. 03-0340 (2004 decision), in which we successfully represented an abutter in its appeal from a decision of the Zoning Board of Appeal of the City of Boston authorizing a non-conforming use.  The Board originally issued a variance and later modified its decision, without notice to abutters, to convert the permit from a variance to a conditional use permit for a prior nonconforming use. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the Superior Court judge granted our motion and set aside the Board’s decision.

Other significant cases:

Cambridge/Clinton Realty Trust v. Board of Appeal of City of Boston et al, Suffolk Superior Court No. 98-04331 (2002 decision), in which we successfully overruled the decision of the City of Boston Zoning Board of Appeal, which had vacated the issuance of an open-air parking lot license based on lack of proper access.  This case was tried for a week in Suffolk Superior Court, with evidence including expert testimony of our client's right of access based on the title dating back to an early 19th Century railroad overpass providing foot-access to our locus. 

Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp. v. Kissell et al, Land Court Dept. Misc. No. 258116 (2002 decision), in which we persuaded the Court on cross-motions for summary judgment that the mortgagee we represented was entitled to equitable subrogation to the rights and priorities not only of the existing mortgages paid off from loan proceeds, but also three executions and an attachment.