Lawrence v. Town of Concord
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
788 N.E.2d 546 (2003)
- Written by Patrick Busch, JD
Facts
Helen Burke Frazier inherited a house and lot from her adoptive mother, with the condition that the property would pass to the town of Concord (defendant) if she died without issue. After she died without issue in 1965, her husband Joseph Frazier rented out the property for several years. In his will, admitted to probate in 1997, he devised it to Albert Lawrence (plaintiff). Lawrence asserted that Frazier had acquired title to the property through adverse possession. The town took possession of the property through eminent domain and refused to pay damages to Lawrence on the grounds that it had held title to it since Helen Burke Frazier’s death. Lawrence sued for damages. The trial court granted the town’s motion for summary judgment, holding that there was no adverse possession because the town did not have notice that it owned the property and therefore Frazier’s possession was not notorious and adverse. The court of appeals affirmed, finding there was ample evidence that Frazier’s possession was not adverse. Lawrence then appealed to the state supreme court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Spina, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
