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In 2018, a comment appeared on the National Law Review Blog about the opinion of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court involving a claim by the developer of a condominium development against the City of Lowell for the operation of a landfill on the property. The Court reiterated that the Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention Act authorizes a private claim for diminution in a property’s value as the result of a release of hazardous material.
Grand Manor was remanded for a new trial. The Massachusetts Appeals Court decided an appeal from that second trial. Grand Manor Condominium Ass’n v. City of Lowell, No. 20-P-622 (Mass. App. Ct. Mar. 17, 2022). The defendant had capped the landfill and had imposed Activity and Use Limitations.
The plaintiff’s estimated permanent loss in value of about $2.7 million. Defendant’s expert estimated that the property experienced a loss of about $3.1 million. The jury awarded $1.4 million, a prejudgment interest at 12%, and attorneys’ fees of about $1.1 million.