Ward v. Prudential Insurance Co. of America

13 N.E.2d 411, 299 Mass. 559, 1938 Mass. LEXIS 845
CourtMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
DecidedMarch 1, 1938
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 13 N.E.2d 411 (Ward v. Prudential Insurance Co. of America) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ward v. Prudential Insurance Co. of America, 13 N.E.2d 411, 299 Mass. 559, 1938 Mass. LEXIS 845 (Mass. 1938).

Opinion

Rugg, C.J.

This is a petition to amend a certificate of title describing land in Medford, issued to the petitioner by the Land Court and dated May 4, 1934. The prayer is for an order to strike from that certificate the following restric[560]*560tive clause attaching to the land: “subject to the restrictions, easements, agreements and reservations set forth in a deed given by the City of Medford to Fellsway Realty Company, duly recorded March 10, 1926, with Middlesex South Deeds, Book 4947, Page 89.” The original decree of registration was subject to the clause just quoted and comprised about nine and one half acres of land in Medford. The land was bounded on the south by Elm Street, on the west by Fellsway West, and on the north and east, for the most part, by land of the city of Medford. The original deed from the city of Medford to Fellsway Realty Company contained the words: “Said premises are conveyed and the grantees for themselves, their heirs, successors and assigns take the same subject to the following easements, reservations, and restrictions created for the benefit of the grantor’s remaining estate and for the benefit of subsequent grantees of any part of the parcel hereby conveyed and in case of breach thereof the grantor or its assigns as well as owners of any part of the parcel hereby conveyed may enforce the same by appropriate proceedings . . . .” Then follow numerous restrictions imposed upon uses to which the land might be put. So far as material to this proceeding, they were that the premises should be used for no commercial purpose except the production of films for motion pictures, and, subject to that exception, that the premises should be used for residential purposes only; with further provisions as to the cost of dwelling houses to be erected, the distance at which such houses should be erected from the lines of streets and from the lines of adjacent lots, and other provisions designed for the development of the tract for residential purposes.

The bill of exceptions of the respondents, together with the decision of the judge of the Land Court, a copy of the deed heretofore specified and referred to in the decision, and copies of three plans include all the material facts. Those facts in substance are as follows: The premises described in the certificate of the petitioner sought to be amended by this petition are shown as lot 49 on Land Court plan No. 12930-A and lot 19-A on Land Court plan No. [561]*56112930-C. Each of the corporate respondents, other than the city of Medford, is the owner of record of, or the holder of a mortgage on, one or more of the lots shown on the three plans above mentioned. The petitioner was the treasurer of the Fellsway Realty Company, which was the grantee in the deed of the entire tract, then unregistered, from the city of Medford, recorded on March 10, 1926. Shortly thereafter there were several mesne conveyances, one by the petitioner, who finally conveyed the tract to William J. L. Roop, trustee under a declaration of trust of which the petitioner owned five hundred one of the five hundred five preferred shares and five hundred of one thousand common shares. Title to the tract, excepting three lots which had been conveyed away prior to the date of registration, was registered in the name of said Roop, as trustee, by decree entered on August 29, 1928. That was the original decree of registration of the tract. It contained the same restrictive clause, already quoted, which referred to the restrictions in the deed given by the city of Medford to the Fellsway Realty Company, duly recorded on March 10, 1926, in Book 4947, Page 89. That is in substance the same clause which the petitioner seeks by the present proceeding to have struck from his certificate of registration. There was filed in the land registration office on June 8, 1928, a plan which apparently shows the tract embracing all the land here in controversy divided into lots numbered 1 to 49, both inclusive, and which already has been referred to as Land Court plan No. 12930-A. Perhaps there are fifty-two lots. Thus, before the original certificate of registration of August 29, 1928, there was on file a plan showing the tract as divided into lots. This plan, together with the restrictive clause in the certificate, shows a general building scheme. Evans v. Foss, 194 Mass. 513. Maclary v. Morgan, 230 Mass. 80. Snow v. Van Dam, 291 Mass. 477. During the period when lots were being sold by Roop as trustee, there was a sign on his office reading “High grade development. Homes, all improvements and restrictions.” Roop also stated to purchasers that the tract was restricted to residential purposes. The persons to whom such repre[562]*562sentations were made, and who are respondents, purchased in reliance upon such representations. At the time the petitioner acquired record title to the premises described in his certificate of title, all of the lots shown on said three plans, except two, had been sold and conveyed by Roop, trustee. It is stated in the decision of the judge of the Land Court that there were “sundry forms of language used by the operator in his deeds following a description of the land conveyed. Some were not made subject to restrictions, but all transfer certificates issued on the authority of the deeds preserved the clause now sought by amendment to eliminate in whole or in part.” This is confirmatory of the existence of a general building scheme. Whitney v. Union Railway, 11 Gray, 359. Hano v. Bigelow, 155 Mass. 341. Bacon v. Sandberg, 179 Mass. 396. Hartt v. Rueter, 223 Mass. 207. Maclary v. Morgan, 230 Mass. 80. The case at bar is distinguishable from Sprague v. Kimball, 213 Mass. 380, because the petitioner has taken his title from a common, original source, under a certificate in form similar, so far as material, to those under which the respondents hold title to their respective premises.

The first conveyances from the tract by said Roop, trustee, and the language, if any, relative to restrictions set forth in the deeds, were as follows: (1) “Lot 46. June 19, 1928, ‘subject to the restrictions, if any, that there may be of record’”; (2) “Lot 27. July 19, 1928, 'subject to restrictions of record’”; (3) “Lot 3. August 30, 1928. No mention of restrictions”; and (4) “Lot 43. September 21, 1928, ‘subject to restrictions, easements, agreements and reservations as set forth in an instrument dated March 10, 1926 and recorded with Middlesex South District Deeds, Book 4947, Page 89 (the deed from the City of Medford).’ ” Following the last mentioned deed thirty-five other lots, including lots owned by parties respondent in this case, were conveyed by said Roop, trustee, by deeds, each of which contained, by reference to said deed from the city of Med-ford or to the original certificate of title, a statement relative to restrictions similar to that contained in the deed of lot 43 above quoted; six other lots were conveyed by deeds [563]*563which made no reference to restrictions; one lot was conveyed subject to “restrictions of record”; and six lots were conveyed by deeds which, following the statement that the land was subject to the restrictions set forth in the said deed or certificate, contained the words “so far as applicable” or words of similar import.

Practically all of the lots shown on said plan No.

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

Related

Apfel v. Miller
10 N.E.3d 1139 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 2014)
Patterson v. Paul
448 Mass. 658 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2007)
Well-Built Homes, Inc. v. Shuster
834 N.E.2d 1213 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 2005)
Doyle v. Commonwealth
830 N.E.2d 1074 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2005)
Kline v. Shearwater Ass'n
830 N.E.2d 235 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 2005)
Phillips v. Pembroke Real Estate, Inc.
819 N.E.2d 579 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2004)
Well-Built Homes, Inc. v. Shuster
17 Mass. L. Rptr. 195 (Massachusetts Superior Court, 2003)
Jones v. Murphy
799 N.E.2d 595 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 2003)
Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. v. Urstadt Biddle Properties, Inc.
740 N.E.2d 1286 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2001)
Blakeley v. Gorin
313 N.E.2d 903 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1974)
Harrod v. Rigelhaupt
298 N.E.2d 872 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1973)
Donoghue v. Prynnwood Corp.
255 N.E.2d 326 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1970)
Butler v. Haley Greystone Corp.
224 N.E.2d 683 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1967)
Hemenway v. Bartevian
72 N.E.2d 536 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1947)
Harrington v. Anderson
55 N.E.2d 30 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1944)
Gilbert v. Repertory, Inc.
18 N.E.2d 437 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1939)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
13 N.E.2d 411, 299 Mass. 559, 1938 Mass. LEXIS 845, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ward-v-prudential-insurance-co-of-america-mass-1938.