Attorney Blog
Boston Waterfront Condo Case Reminds Us Who Can Enforce Public Trust Principles
Written by Nathaniel Stevens, Esq. / Published Wednesday, 29 December 2021 14:40Property owners lack legal authority to use private litigation to enforce their public trust rights. Only the Commonwealth may enforce public trust rights in Commonwealth tidelands and other waterfront areas.
Housing Choice Act of 2020 Promotes Multi-Family in Massachusetts Zoning Act and 40R
Written by Michael J. O'Neill, Esq. / Published Wednesday, 29 December 2021 14:23Governor Baker signed the Housing Choice Act of 2020, Chapter 358 of the Acts of 2020 (the “Housing Choice Act”) on January 14, 2021, as an emergency law, which made it effective immediately. It made significant procedural and substantive changes to the Massachusetts Zoning Act (Chapter 40A) and Smart Growth Districts (Chapter 40R), largely to facilitate multi-family housing near transportation facilities.
Nathaniel Stevens, Esq. Named Partner of The Firm Featured
/ Published Tuesday, 30 November 2021 14:01McGregor Legere & Stevens, PC is very pleased to announce that Nathaniel Stevens, Esq. has been named Partner of the firm.. We have elected to retain a shorter version of our firm name, McGregor Legere & Stevens, PC for the sake of simplicity. Thank you Nathaniel for your many years of excellent work!
Revisiting the Leading Massachusetts Cases on Article 97 Park and Open Space Protection: Mahajan and Westfield
Written by Luke H. Legere, Esq. / Published Monday, 29 November 2021 16:13We remind ourselves of the seminal decision in Mahajan v. DEP, 464 Mass. 604 (2013) – in which the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) reversed and remanded a Superior Court decision that Article 97 applied to Long Wharf in Boston – in light of the SJC’s more recent ruling in Smith v. City of Westfield, 478 Mass. 49 (2017).
US Supreme Court Decides Interstate Aquifer Rights
Tyler Doan / Published Monday, 29 November 2021 15:33On November 22, 2021, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling on whether Tennessee is liable for damages and other relief related to the pumping of groundwater by the City of Memphis from the Middle Claiborne Aquifer which lies beneath eight states. The Supreme Court ruled in a precedent setting opinion that the waters of the Middle Claiborne Aquifer are subject to the judicial remedy of equitable apportionment and that Mississippi’s complaint is dismissed without leave to amend.
U.S. Supreme Court Rules CERCLA Does Not Preclude State Law Claims For Contaminated Sites: Superfund and EPA Are Not The Only Game In Town
Written by Luke H. Legere, Esq. / Published Monday, 15 November 2021 10:37In a recent decision with far-reaching implications for owners of contaminated property, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA, often referred to as the federal Superfund law) does not preclude claims under state laws for further cleanup of contaminated sites.
Mcgregor Legere & Stevens Obtains $1.35 Million for Client for City’s Illegal Blockage of House Construction
Written by Michael J. O'Neill, Esq. / Published Tuesday, 03 August 2021 13:38In 2015 we won on behalf of client Scotty Thyng a million-dollar verdict in Norfolk Superior Court (Civil Action No. 2010-01449) against officials of the City of Quincy.
22nd Annual MCLE Environmental, Land Use & Energy Law Conference (Virtual) on March 4, 2021: Best Practices For Emerging Issues Featured
Written by Gregor I. McGregor, Esq. / Published Wednesday, 24 February 2021 14:34There was no shortage of important 2020 developments in federal, state and local environmental law, despite Covid-19. This MCLE annual offering, co-chaired by firm founder Gregor McGregor, Esq. and former MassDEP counsel Pamela Harvey, Esq, features well-known speakers.
McGregor Presents "Environmental Law 2019-2020: Legal Developments in Wetlands and Water Law For Conservation Commissions"
Written by Gregor I. McGregor, Esq. / Published Wednesday, 24 February 2021 13:51The Firm’s newest PowerPoint updating wetlands and water law for those who are involved with applications, plans, permits and enforcement by Conservation Commissions is available to readers of this site. Gregor McGregor presented it to the Massachusetts Society of Municipal Conservation Professionals in a luncheon webcast January 27, 2021.
Appeals Court Summary Decisions In 2020 Involving Municipal Boards Give Insights On Email Settlements, Constructive Approvals, and Permit Extensions
Written by Gregor I. McGregor, Esq. / Published Friday, 05 February 2021 10:06Three selected 2020 summary decisions of the Massachusetts Appeals Court illustrate, in short and sweet opinions, the implications of settlement negotiations by emails, tactical moves while challenging a local board’s decision, the ins and outs of getting permit extensions, what happens in court review of a tribunal’s decision, and how a well-maintained document record, well-run deliberation, and well-written decision can determine who wins or loses and why.
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Appeals Court Rules Conservation Restrictions are Enforceable Against Violators for Monetary Damages, Not Just Equitable Relief Like Restoration and Replanting
Written by Gregor I. McGregor, Esq. / Published Wednesday, 25 November 2020 14:36In its August 10, 2020, decision in the case of Wellesley Conservation Council, Inc. v. Pereira (AC 19-P-753), the Massachusetts Appeals Court addressed the scope of enforcement options available to the holder of a Conservation Restriction (CR), in particular whether injunctive relief (like restoration and replanting) is the holder’s sole remedy for violations of the CR’s terms, or does it include money damages, too. The answer is yes to damages.
Appeals Court Takes The Mystery Ouf Of Altering One - and Two-Family Preexisting Nonconforming Residences: No More "Grandfathering"
Written by Michael J. O'Neill, Esq. / Published Wednesday, 12 August 2020 12:21The decision of the Appeals Court in Henry W. Comstock, Jr., Trustee and another v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Gloucester and others, authored by Justice James Milkey, illustrates the strong protections afforded by G.L. c. 40 A, section 6 to owners of single- or two-family preexisting nonconforming residences who want to renovate their residences. They are protected by significant obstacles to neighbor opponents of such projects on account of minor issues.
Assessing Civil Penalties for Violating Zoning Bylaws or State Building Code: Appeals Court Says to Adhere Closely to the Correct Process
Written by Nathaniel Stevens, Esq. / Published Tuesday, 28 July 2020 09:32A June 15, 2020 opinion of the Massachusetts Appeals Court reminds building inspectors and other municipal officials of the trilogy of remedies to assess money penalties for zoning and building code violations and to be sure to follow the proper procedures. There are lessons as well for any local officials who have been given the power to issue citations using the non-criminal disposition procedures of G.L. c 40, § 21D. The Appeals Court’s decision is Michael J. Maroney, Trustee et al v. Planning Board of Haverhill et al, 19-P-566, 97 Mass. App. Ct. 678 (2020).
Appeals Court Holds a Land Court Settlement Agreement Doesn’t Bind a Non-Party, Distinguishing Morganelli
Written by Michael J. O'Neill, Esq. / Published Friday, 26 June 2020 12:13In a clear, well-reasoned opinion deciding the case of Stevens, Trustee v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Bourne, No. 19-P-248 (June 19, 2020), the Appeals Court (Green, C.J.) held that a settlement agreement between the Town’s selectmen and a property owner resolving a Land Court action did not bind an abutter who was not party to the litigation.
Supreme Court Rules A Clean Water Act Permit Can Be Required for Groundwater Discharges By Maui County Into Navigable Waters
Written by Olympia A. Bowker, Esq. / Published Tuesday, 12 May 2020 13:03On April 23, 2020, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund et al., No. 18-260, 590 U.S. __ (April 23, 2020), ruling that the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) may require a permit when a point source discharges pollutants to navigable waters through groundwater. This decision has been eagerly awaited by industry, government, and the bar.
Mcgregor Legere & Stevens is Open for Business and Connected with Clients and Others
Written by Gregor I. McGregor, Esq. / Published Friday, 10 April 2020 16:15McGregor & Legere is fully operational and ready to help you with any and all of your environmental, land use, energy, litigation, and now Covid-19 related governmental matters. Attorneys and staff are hard at work-at-home, in touch and in sync.
Firm's Civil Rights Victory and Jury Verdict Upheld, Now Over $1.5M
Written by Michael J. O'Neill, Esq. / Published Monday, 06 April 2020 11:51We had won a judgment of $433,000 in 2015 in our client’s long-running and ultimately successful case, Scotty Thyng v. City of Quincy et al, Norfolk Superior Court, Civil Action No. 2010-01449. That was after a two-week jury trial for violation of civil rights against five City of Quincy public officials for delaying and blocking our client’s attempts to build a house for more than 10 years. With interest and attorneys’ fees, that judgment came to more than $1.3 million.
Massachusetts Assocation of Conservation Commissions (MACC) Honors McGregor With Long-Time Service Award
Written by Gregor I. McGregor, Esq. / Published Saturday, 29 February 2020 16:30At its Annual Environmental Conference (AEC) at Holy Cross College in Worcester on February 29, 2020, attended by 800 people, the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions (MACC) gave our founding partner Gregor McGregor recognition for his long service to environmental law in general, conservation law especially, and wetlands protection law most particularly.
Stockbridge Bowl Case: Where the Law Meets Science in Court
Written by Olympia A. Bowker, Esq. / Published Friday, 28 February 2020 14:30In the case of Stockbridge Bowl Association, Inc. v. Town of Stockbridge Conservation Commission & others (Doc. No. 19-0032, December 3, 2019), the Berkshire County Superior Court reviewed the record behind the Stockbridge Conservation Commission’s Order of Conditions denying a lake management project, found the Commission’s justification based on error and lacking in science, and ordered the Commission to approve the Project.
Attorney Gregor McGregor to Co-Chair the 21st Annual Environmental Law Conference for Massachusetts Attorneys
Written by Gregor I. McGregor, Esq. / Published Thursday, 09 January 2020 11:50Attorney Gregor I. McGregor will again will Co-chair the MCLE annual conference on Environmental Law, set for February 6, 2020, with a simulcast that same day and then a recorded podcast February 20. Mr. McGregor and his Co-chair Pamela Harvey, Esq. have led this seminal event for over two decades.
Boston Enacts Wetlands Protection Ordinance to Address Climate Change
Written by Nathaniel Stevens, Esq. / Published Tuesday, 24 December 2019 11:15On December 23, 2019, the City of Boston joined the almost two-thirds of the Commonwealth’s 351 municipalities in having more stringent requirements for work in and near wetlands, waterbodies, and floodplains. Unlike many of those other municipalities, the explicit purpose of Boston’s wetlands ordinance is to address climate change, through adaptation and building resiliency.
Emissions Offsets from Brayton Point Station Issued by MassDEP
Written by Gregor I. McGregor, Esq. / Published Monday, 23 December 2019 10:56On December 23, 2019, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) announced it has finalized the credits for nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions offsets based on the emissions reductions that resulted from the permanent shut-down of the former Brayton Point Station power plant in Somerset, MA.
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