Facts: This is an
appeal from the Land Court’s order of summary judgment dismissing the Plaintiff’s
appeal from the issuance of a building permit.
In September of 1999 the Plaintiff’s neighbor obtained a building permit
for the construction of a large single-family dwelling on his property. In
January of 2005, the plaintiff began this action in Land Court to enjoin the
neighbor from constructing the dwelling. The plaintiff alleged a zoning by-law
violation related to his permit. The zoning board denied the Plaintiff’s
multiple enforcement requests and a Land Court judge affirmed the board’s
denials.
Issue: Did the
Land Court judge err in affirming the zoning board’s denial of the Plaintiff’s
multiple enforcement requests? No, the Plaintiff had constructive notice of the
issuance of the permit and failed to a file a timely appeal within the
thirty-day period allotted for such an appeal and the Plaintiff’s failure to
raise the violation warrants the application of laches.
Reasoning: The
court reasoned that the Plaintiff knew that the neighbor wanted to begin
construction immediately, which was sufficient to place the Plaintiff on duty
of inquiry into the building permit issuance. The failure of the Plaintiff to
appeal within the allotted thirty-days warrants dismissal. Furthermore, the
court reasoned as an independent ground for their decision the doctrine of
Laches bars the Plaintiff’s complaint. The Plaintiff failed to raise the issue
for a significant amount of time and such a delay was unjust, unreasonable, and
prejudicial.
Judgment: Affirmed.
(KL)
