Real Estate

The Firm's lawyers have extensive experience in the full range of problems faced by owners and managers of real estate, including construction and lease disputes, purchase and sale agreements, workouts, debtor/creditors’ rights, relationships with banking and financial institutions, foreclosures, eminent domain claims, construction loans, title insurance litigation, escrows, and quiet title issues.  We provide clear, practical advice to help our real estate clients to develop a workable strategy to achieve their goals, whether it involves negotiating a simple lease renewal or litigating disputes arising from complex securitization financing.  Our lawyers regularly represent real estate partnerships and joint ventures, commercial landlords and tenants, condominium associations, general contractors, developers, and private owners.

Whether our clients are seeking sound advice to avoid a dispute or representation in court to resolve one, our lawyers' skill, depth of knowledge and experience will help secure the best solution as efficiently and effectively as possible.

We have litigated a significant number of real estate disputes for clients in federal and state court, including Massachusetts Land Court, and in arbitration.  Matters we have handled for clients include the following:

• Achieved extremely favorable settlement for limited partnership that had sold a New Haven office building to its major tenant, a local university. The tenant alleged numerous breaches of its lease to try to offset the purchase price.  The claims were quite complex, requiring structural engineering experts and various other engineering and code expertise.  The prolonged mediation process included various expert reports, written submissions by both sides, two formal mediation sessions, further meetings and inspections and additional mediated negotiations.
• Obtained judgment for owner/developer of large commercial real estate project against creditor of contractor on project, where owner had settled claims with successor of contractor (the assignee for the benefit of creditors).  The contractor's creditor, an equipment vendor, still pursued claims against the owner based on its claim that it had been assigned the claims for payment of the contractor against the client owner and that the settlement between the owner and the assignee for the benefit of the creditors did not bind it.  After protracted litigation, the Superior Court entered judgment for our client, holding that the owner could settle with the assignee for the benefit of creditors and be released from all claims because the assignment obtained by the plaintiff creditor was junior to the rights of the assignee for the benefit of creditors.
• Successfully resisted attempts to evict commercial tenant from leased space and negotiated a resolution on terms sought by client.
• Took over the representation of a state-wide bar association that had challenged the defendant’s practice of “witness only” closings for residential home transactions. Devised a comprehensive strategy that resulted in a First Circuit decision vacating an adverse ruling and led to a decision by the Supreme Judicial Court on the issue of the unauthorized practice of law that the client lauded as a “huge win.”
• Tried declaratory judgment action on behalf of restaurant in dispute with its landlord over restaurant’s right to extend its lease for an additional 5-year term despite being in default of some of the lease provisions. Client’s favorable decision was affirmed on appeal. Trinity Realty I, LLC v. Chazumba, LLC, 77 Mass. App. Ct. 913 (2010).
• Tried a matter to a jury on behalf of one of the members of a joint venture which had developed real estate in Cambridge. The jury awarded our client more than she had requested in damages.
• Represented commercial tenant in Superior Court action in which we successfully enforced a 15-year lease for a build-to-suit childcare facility and office building against successor landlord.
• Represented joint venture seeking to develop commercial land. Faced with the imminent lapse of the building permit, we devised a strategy that included a counterclaim for declaratory and injunctive relief to obtain a decision that the obligation to build under the permit was stayed pending the appeal. Following trial on bifurcated issues, the parties came together with a modified plan for the development of the site for laboratory and bio-tech space that was quickly approved and implemented.
• Successfully defended a large residential condominium association and its board members in a bitter, hard-fought case brought by disgruntled unit owners. With our clients facing multiple, substantial claims for damages and for declaratory and injunctive relief, we obtained summary judgment on all claims, which decision was affirmed by the Massachusetts Appeals Court. Owners of Flagship Wharf Condo 702 v. Parker, 80 Mass. App. Ct. 283 (2011).
• Tried numerous actions in Land Court and Superior Court involving establishment of easement rights, adverse possession, and enforcement of purchase and sale agreements.