Today the Appeals Court decided Gund v. Planning Board of Cambridge. That case concerns the former location of the Middlesex Superior Court, an asbestos-filled, anomalous sky-scraper near Lechmere in Cambridge. The building, which does not comply with zoning, has been sold to a developer. At issue was whether the court house is a preexisting, nonconforming

Gordon Orloff
Gordon Orloff is a Boston-based lawyer focusing on business, real estate and probate litigation in the trial and appellate courts of Massachusetts. Gordon represents clients in contract disputes as well as in trade secret and copyright cases, title, easement and zoning and boundary disputes.
Gordon is aware that some matters are best resolved outside of the courtroom and he regularly represents clients in alternative dispute resolution. He is a trained mediator and has served as a case conciliator at the Boston Municipal Court.
Gordon has presented on various real estate topics for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education and other continuing legal education programs and is a member of Real Estate Bar Association’s Litigation Committee. He also is a regular contributor to the blog, Massachusetts Land Use Monitor, which reports on new developments in real estate and land-use law.
Permitting, First Amendment and Jury Trial Issues All in One Case
On June 29, 2017, the First Circuit Court of Appeals decided Steinmetz v. Coyle Caron, Inc. That case, which has its roots in the mundane desire of a couple to build a new home on their land in Cohasset, gave rise to some interesting and complicated constitutional questions.
The Steinmetzes needed approval from the local…
Tenant Required to Prove that It Terminated Lease
Earlier this week the Appeals Court decided that a tenant has the burden of proving that it properly exercised its option to terminate a written lease. The commercial lease in Patriot Power, LLC v. New Rounder, LLC, provided that it would renew automatically each year unless one of the parties timely notified the other…
Smooth Sailing for Safe Salem Marina
Yesterday the Appeals Court upheld a variance decision by our former colleague, Land Court Justice Robert Foster. In that case, Furlong v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Salem, Furlong challenged a variance granted to the abutting Brewer Hawthorne Cove Marina in Salem.
The variance permitted the Marina to construct a new building outside of…
The Beach is This Way–And It’s My Registered Land
A Massachusetts appellate court has ruled for the first time that new land which accretes to registered waterfront land is treated as registered land automatically, without the registered landowner filing additional proceedings.
In Brown v. Kalicki, decided earlier this week, neighbors sought to establish an easement by prescription to use for recreational purposes a…
The Beach is Which Way?
On June 17, 2016, the Supreme Judicial Court decided an interesting zoning case concerning whether the holder of a beach access easement has standing to challenge a zoning determination affecting the beach parcel. The case is Picard v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Westminster.
As all followers of Massachusetts zoning know, the standing of…
At Long Last Legislation Addresses Ibanez Issue
The Massachusetts Legislature and Governor Baker have taken a much needed step to limit further problems resulting from the Ibanez decision and its progeny. Those cases made clear that a foreclosure by a party that did not yet hold an assignment of the mortgage failed to convey good title. As a result, many third party…
Further Foreclosure Fallout
In its decision earlier this year in U.S. Bank Natl. Assn. v. Schumacher (pdf), the Supreme Judicial Court addressed the impact of a failure to comply with requirements for providing notice of the mortgagor’s right to cure a default pursuant to M.G.L. c. 244, § 35A (our post on Schumacher is here). The recent…
Recent Rulings on More Foreclosure Foibles
In the last few weeks the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) decided two more cases dealing with the effects of botched foreclosure sales.
The more important decision is U.S. Bank National Association v. Schumacher (pdf). Schumacher arises from M.G.L. c. 244, §35A, which the Legislature enacted in 2007 in response to the foreclosure crisis. This statute requires foreclosing banks…
Registered, Schmegistered: Easements On Registered Land Can Be Relocated
Earlier this month the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued an important decision in the case of Martin v. Simmons Properties, LLC. Mr. Martin holds an easement over the land of the defendant, Simmons. Simmons had blocked part of Martin’s easement.
Land in Massachusetts can be registered or unregistered. Registered land has some special protections not afforded to…