January 2017

Fee simple absolute found despite language of "in trust" and "for the uses, purposes" of the YWCA

In a standard application of traditional estates doctrine, the Massachusetts Appeals Court has found a fee simple absolute despite language in the grant to the YWCA stating that the property was given "in trust, nevertheless, for the uses, purposes and trusts aforesaid." Young Women's Christian Ass'n, Inc. of Boston, Inc. v. Young Women's Christian Ass'n of Philadelphia, Inc., 90 Mass. App. Ct. 1119, 2016 WL 7162737 (Table) (Mass. 2016).

Traditionally any language in a conveyance of a fee...

Servitudes to be interpreted to promote the intent of the parties and not strictly construed

The Utah Supreme Court joined others in adopting the modern view that servitudes (restrictive covenants) should be interpreted to effectuate the intent of the parties, rather than interpreting them strictly so as to maximize the rights of the owner of the burdened property, as the traditional rule held. ...

An owner can obtain property by acquiescence even if the neighboring land is unoccupied

The Utah Supreme Court has held that an owner can obtain property "by acquiescence" if the owner occupies a strip of the neighbor's land in a visible manner without objection. Anderson v. Fautin, 2016 UT 22, 379 P.3d 1186 (Utah 2016). Although "acquiescence" suggests that a neighbor is aware of the placement of the border and either agrees or does not object to it...

Why you should record your mortgage

In a straight-forward application of the relevant recording statute, the Massachusetts Land Court has held that a son who received a deed to the land without notice of a prior reverse mortgage is not subject to the mortgage since it was not recorded and he had no other means to achieve notice of it. https://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/macourts/ 57 N.E.3d 1065 (Mass. App. Ct. 2016).

An easement cannot be used to reach land to which it is not appurtenant

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has held that an easement cannot be extended even for a short way to access land to which it is not appurtenant. When an easement is created to enable access to a particular parcel of land, it can be used only for that purpose and not to access other parcels of land even if continguous. Taylor v. Martha's Vineyard Land Bank Comm'n, 60 N.E>3d 319 (Mass....

Town's extension of an easement to the general public overburdens and exceeds the scope of the easement

The Massachusetts Appeals Court has held that opening an easement to the general public may overburden it when the easement had not previously been used in that manner, giving the owner of the servient estate the chance to prove that the increased use interfered with his retained property rights in the underlying land and exceeded the scope of the rights included in the easement. Goff v. Town of Randolph, 56 N.E.3d 893 (...

Another court holds that sexual orientation discrimination is a form of sex discrimination

A federal district court has held that discrimination because of sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination. EEOC v. Scott Med. Health Ctr., P.C., 2016 U.S. DIst. LEXIS 153744 (W.D. Pa. 2016). Plaintiff complained of a sexually hostile work environment by deriding his sexual orientation. The court noted that "[t]here is no more obvious form of sex stereotyping than making a detemination that a person should...

Sex offender cannot be evicted from state-subsidized housing because of regulatory limitation imposed after the lease began

The Connecticut Supreme Court has held that a registered sex offender cannot be evicted from housing subisidized by the state when he obtained the subsidy and the housing before passage of the state law banning such assistance. Shannon v. Comm'r of Housing, 140 A.3d 903 (Conn. 2016) (see dissenting opinion...

Engagement rings must be returned if the marriage does not happen

The Supreme Court of Viriginia held that engagement rings are conditional gifts given in contemplation of marriage and that, when the marriage is called off, the ring donor has a right to have the ring returned. McGrath v. Dockendorf, 2016 Va. LEXIS 187 (Va. 2016). The technical holding of the case was that such claims are not barred by the "heart balm" statute,...

Town cannot impose greater parking requirements for a mosque than for churches or synagogues

A town violated the Religious Land Use-Institutionazlied Persons Act (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000cc to 2000cc-5, when its planning board required a mosque to provide off-street parking for every single member as a condition of receiving a building permit when it had not imposed similar requirements for churches and synagogues. Islamic Soc'y of Basking Ridge v....

Joseph William Singer

Bussey Professor of Law, Harvard Law School