Posco Investment Corp. v. Commonwealth

5 Mass. L. Rptr. 50
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedJanuary 23, 1996
DocketNo. CA 903723
StatusPublished

This text of 5 Mass. L. Rptr. 50 (Posco Investment Corp. v. Commonwealth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Posco Investment Corp. v. Commonwealth, 5 Mass. L. Rptr. 50 (Mass. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

Sosman, J.

Plaintiff Poseo Investment Corp. (Poseo) has brought the present action complaining of damage to its properly allegedly arising out of the relocation and reconstruction of the Bemis Road bridge in Fitch-burg, Massachusetts. In Count I of its complaint, Poseo seeks to recover compensation from the Commonwealth under G.L.c. 79, 12 for the alleged taking of or damage to its property. Poseo has also brought claims in negligence (Counts II and III), trespass (Counts VI and VII) and nuisance (Counts X and XII) against both the Commonwealth and the City of Fitch-burg.

The Commonwealth and the City have filed motions for summary judgment with respect to the Counts against them. For the following reasons, the City of Fitchburg’s motion is allowed and the Commonwealth’s motion is allowed in part and denied in part.

Facts

Poseo owns two parcels of land comprising 24.9 acres in the City of Fitchburg. The two parcels are split by a small strip of land belonging to the Fitchburg Gas & Electric Company. Poseo has an easement across that strip of land to connect the two parcels. The land [51]*51is vacant and is zoned for industrial use. Poseo claims that its intention in acquiring the land was to develop the property for industrial use.

One of the parcels owned by Poseo fronts on Route 12 (Water Street) and has access to Route 12. The other parcel fronts on and has access to Bemis Road. By way of its easement, Poseo can have access from either parcel to either Route 12 or to Bemis Road.

Prior to the events giving rise to this lawsuit, the parcel fronting on Bemis Road had 110 feet of frontage. However, approximately 65 to 70 feet of that frontage was within the area of the Nashua River, leaving Poseo with some 35 to 40 feet of usable frontage on Bemis Road. From Bemis Road, there was a fire access driveway spanned by a 16 foot chain link fence gate.

In 1987, a storm destroyed the Bemis Road bridge, which had spanned the Nashua River along the edge of Posco’s property. As part of the rebuilding of the bridge, the Massachusetts Department of Public Works (now the Massachusetts Highway Department) and engineers from the City of Fitchburg relocated the bridge and a portion of Bemis Road slightly further to the east. As a result of this relocation, the Poseo parcel has lost its frontage on Bemis Road. The boundary of the Poseo property now fronts on the small strip of land (presumably owned by either the state or the city) that separates it by a few feet from the actual edge of the newly relocated Bemis Road.

The relocation of the road has not affected the fire access driveway to the Poseo property. The driveway remains, at the same width, and leaves Poseo with access to the newly relocated Bemis Road.

Poseo complains that the relocation of the bridge and the road have caused a loss of access to the property and a loss of frontage on Bemis Road. Plaintiff contends that the loss of frontage now prevents the subdivision of the property as originally planned. Poseo also complains of the erection of a 40-foot chain link fence, the placement of “rip rap” stone along the southerly bank of the river, the removal of three ash trees, the placement of concrete on the driveway, and the removal of an existing guardrail.1

Discussion

I. Count I: Eminent Domain

The Commonwealth has moved for summary judgment on the claim under G.L.c. 79, 10 and 12, arguing that there is no compensation for relocation of a road as long as the property owner still has reasonable access to the property. See Malone v. Commonwealth, 378 Mass. 74 (1979). In Malone, plaintiffs complained that the relocation of a highway that had previously run right by their gift shop had diminished the commercial value of their property. While the property was still accessible via an access road off the newly relocated highway, the shop was obviously not as visible or convenient to travelers on the highway. The court ruled that the mere diversion of traffic, without substantial impairment of physical access, was not a form of compensable injury. 378 Mass. at 78-80.

Poseo still has access to both parcels of property, via both Route 12 (Water Street) and Bemis Road. The fact that the Bemis Road fire access driveway must now first traverse a few feet of public land, over a few additional feet of paved way, obviously does not deprive Poseo of access to the property. The Commonwealth is correct in its assertion that there has not been the kind of deprivation of access necessary to trigger a claim for compensation.

However, the fact that Poseo has not lost access to the property does not address the issue of Posco’s allegedly substantial loss of frontage. Under the eminent domain statute, a property owner is entitled to compensation if his real estate “has been taken for the public use or has been damaged by the construction, maintenance, operation, alteration, repair or discontinuance of a public improvement” and that taking or damage has resulted in “an injury for which he is entitled to compensation.” G.L.c. 79, 10.

In the present case, there has been no “taking” of the Poseo property in the traditional sense of that term. There has been no transfer of title from Poseo to any governmental entity, nor has there been any permanent government occupation of the property. See Wilson v. Commonwealth, 31 Mass.App.Ct. 757, 764, aff'd, 413 Mass. 352 (1992). Poseo contends, however, that its property has been “damaged” by the loss of frontage that it previously enjoyed.

No Massachusetts case has yet addressed the issue of whether loss of frontage resulting from a public improvement is a compensable form of damage to property. In Malone, the court did observe that the plaintiffs property had the same amount of frontage on the access road that it had previously enjoyed on the highway. 378 Mass. at 81. The court’s listing of that fact among its list of reasons for not awarding relief to the plaintiffs in Malone is at least some indication that maintaining roughly the same amount of frontage before and after some public improvement is of significance in determining whether the property has suffered compensable damage as a result of that improvement.

Here, plaintiff alleges a drastic loss of frontage such that property that was formerly eligible for subdivision is no longer eligible. In modern zoning and land use regulation, frontage requirements are both common and inflexible. If a property has sufficient frontage for a particular use and then loses that frontage as a result of some relocation of the road, there may be no substitute or alternative available to the landowner. In cases involving access, there are normally alternatives for access which, while not as efficient or profitable as the former route(s), are sufficient such that the landowner has not been deprived of his property. See [52]*52Malone, supra. By comparison, loss of the frontage necessary to obtain approvals for certain uses is not simply less convenient or less profitable for the landowner. It can, depending on the requirements in local land use ordinances and the facts of the case, amount to an absolute prohibition on certain uses of the land.

Here, plaintiff contends that the loss of frontage on one parcel has had the consequence of an absolute prohibition on his planned use of the land. For purposes of the present motion, the court must accept as true the plaintiffs expert’s affidavit to that effect.2

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Morash & Sons, Inc. v. Commonwealth
296 N.E.2d 461 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1973)
Connerty v. Metropolitan District Commission
495 N.E.2d 840 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1986)
Wilson v. Commonwealth
597 N.E.2d 43 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1992)
Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield v. Commonwealth
392 N.E.2d 829 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1979)
Malone v. Commonwealth
389 N.E.2d 975 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1979)
Wilson v. Commonwealth
583 N.E.2d 894 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1992)
Hub Theatres, Inc. v. Massachusetts Port Authority
346 N.E.2d 371 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1976)
Sawyer v. Davis
136 Mass. 239 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1884)
United Electric Light Co. v. Deliso Construction Co.
52 N.E.2d 553 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1943)
Drivas v. Barnett
24 Mass. App. Ct. 750 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
5 Mass. L. Rptr. 50, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/posco-investment-corp-v-commonwealth-masssuperct-1996.