reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 252 § 18 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 252 - Improvement of Low Land and Swamps|Section 18 - Laying Out; Taking; Damages

Section 18. If, after examination, inspection and a hearing, they find that the improvements prayed for are required by the public convenience and necessity they shall so lay out and establish the same as to do as little injury as practicable, and if it is necessary to take private property for such improvements may take it on behalf of such county under chapter seventy-nine. Any person sustaining damage in his property by the laying out or establishment of such improvements shall be entitled to recover the same under said chapter.
MA Gen L ch 252 § 19 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 252 - Improvement of Low Land and Swamps|Section 19 - Benefits; Duty of Commissioner to Assess

Section 19. The commissioners shall assess the amount awarded as damages upon the persons for whose use the improvements are to be made, in proportion to the benefit to be received by each; but no person shall be assessed an amount greater than the benefit to be received by him. The provisions of chapter eighty relative to the abatement and collection of betterments shall apply to assessments made under this section.
MA Gen L ch 252 § 20 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 252 - Improvement of Low Land and Swamps|Section 20 - Repairs

Section 20. If it is necessary to repair an improvement so made, a majority of the persons benefited by it may cause such repairs to be made, and may by bill in equity compel contribution on the basis of the award from the owner of each parcel of land for the use of which the improvement was made.
MA Gen L ch 252 § 21 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 252 - Improvement of Low Land and Swamps|Section 21 - Petition to Mayor and Aldermen or Selectmen

Section 21. If the land mentioned in section fifteen lies entirely in one town, the petition may be made to the mayor and aldermen or selectmen thereof, who shall proceed thereon in all respects as above provided for county commissioners, except that they need not give notice to their town. Such petition shall be filed in the office of the town clerk before proceedings are had thereon; and the petition with the order thereon shall be recorded in said office within two months after the order has been made.
MA Gen L ch 252 § 22 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 252 - Improvement of Low Land and Swamps|Section 22 - Fees

Section 22. The mayor and aldermen or selectmen shall each receive two dollars for each day's service upon such petition, and the city or town clerk shall receive for recording a petition or order thereon the fee provided by clause (68) of section thirty-four of chapter two hundred and sixty-two.
MA Gen L ch 252 § 23 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 252 - Improvement of Low Land and Swamps|Section 23 - Appeal

Section 23. A party aggrieved by the refusal of the mayor and aldermen or selectmen to make such order, may, within one year thereafter, petition the county commissioners, who shall thereupon proceed in all respects as though the petition had been originally filed with them.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 1 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 1 - Erection

Section 1. A person may, as hereinafter provided, erect and maintain a water mill and a dam to raise water for working it, upon and across any stream not navigable.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 2 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 2 - Dams; Injury to Existing Mill; Prohibition

Section 2. Such dam shall not be erected to the injury of a mill lawfully existing above or below it on the same stream, nor to the injury of a mill site on the same stream on which a mill or mill dam has been lawfully erected and used, unless the right to maintain a mill on such last mentioned site has been lost by abandonment or otherwise; nor shall a mill dam be erected or raised to the injury of any such mill site which has been occupied as such by the owner thereof, if, within a reasonable time after commencing such occupation, he completes and puts in operation a mill for the working of which the water of such stream is applied; nor shall a mill or dam be placed on the land of any person without such grant, conveyance or authority from the owner as would be necessary to convey land.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 3 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 3 - Height of Water

Section 3. The height to which the water may be raised and the period of time for which it may be kept up in each year may be determined by jury.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 4 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 4 - Overflow or Injury to Land; Action for Compensation; Limitation; Venue

Section 4. The owner or occupant of land which has been overflowed or otherwise injured by such dam may bring a civil action to obtain compensation therefor. Such action shall be commenced within three years next after the event complained of in the superior court for the county where the land or any part thereof lies; but if the land overflowed or injured is outside the commonwealth such action shall be brought in the superior court for the county where the dam or any part thereof is maintained.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 7 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 7 - Jury

Section 7. Such action shall be tried by a jury and, if either party requires it, the jury shall, under the direction of the court, view the land alleged to be injured.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 8 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 8 - Assessment of Damages

Section 8. If the jury finds that the plaintiff has suffered the injury complained of it shall assess the amount of damages sustained within three years last preceding the commencement of the action and to the date of their verdict, taking into consideration any damage caused by the dam to other land of the plaintiff as well as the damage caused thereby to the land overflowed reduced by any benefit caused thereby to the plaintiff's land.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 9 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 9 - Height of Dam; Determination by Jury

Section 9. If it is alleged in the plaintiff's complaint that the dam has been raised to an unreasonable height, or that it ought not to be kept up and closed during the whole year, the jury shall determine by their verdict how much, if at all, the dam shall be lowered and whether it shall be left open, and, if so, during what part of the year.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 10 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 10 - Annual and Gross Damages; Assessment by Jury

Section 10. They shall also determine by their verdict what amount, if any, to be paid annually to the plaintiff, would be a just and reasonable compensation for the damages that may be thereafter caused by the dam, so long as it is used in conformity with the verdict; and also what amount in gross would be a just and reasonable compensation for all damages thereafter to be caused by such use of the dam and for the right to maintain and use it forever as aforesaid.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 11 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 11 - Plaintiff; Right to Elect Gross Amount

Section 11. The plaintiff may, within three months after the verdict has been recorded elect, by a writing filed in the clerk's office, to take the amount so awarded in gross, instead of such annual compensation.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 12 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 12 - Gross Amount; Time for Payment

Section 12. The owner or occupant of the mill or dam shall, within three months after such election, pay to the plaintiff or secure to his satisfaction said amount with interest from the date of the verdict. After the expiration of said three months, and until payment of said damages and interest, such owner or occupant shall lose all benefit of the provisions of this chapter.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 13 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 13 - Annual Compensation

Section 13. If the plaintiff does not file an election, as aforesaid, he and all persons claiming under him shall, so long as the dam is kept up and maintained, be entitled to receive from the owner or occupant of the mill the annual compensation so established by the jury, unless the amount is increased or diminished upon a new petition, as hereinafter provided.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 14 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 14 - Damages; Lien on Mill

Section 14. The person who is entitled to receive said annual compensation or gross damages shall have a lien therefor, from the time of the commencement of the original action, on the mill and mill dam with their appurtenances and on the land under and adjoining the same and used therewith; but such lien shall not extend to any amount due more than three years before the commencement of an action therefor.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 15 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 15 - Recovery of Damages; Enforcement of Lien

Section 15. Such person may recover, in contract in the superior court from the person who owns or occupies the mill when the action is brought, the whole amount due and unpaid for the three years last preceding, and costs, although the amount recovered is less than one hundred dollars.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 16 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 16 - Sale on Execution

Section 16. The execution issued on such judgment, if not otherwise satisfied, may, within thirty days after judgment, be levied on the land so subject to the lien; and the officer may thereupon sell, in the manner provided for the sale of land on execution, such land or so much thereof as is necessary to satisfy the execution and the expenses of the levy. Such sale shall be valid against any claim which has accrued within the time covered by the lien.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 17 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 17 - Redemption

Section 17. A person who is entitled to the land so sold may redeem the same within one year after the sale, upon paying to the purchaser or to the person holding under him the amount paid therefor, with interest at the rate of twelve per cent a year.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 18 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 18 - Costs

Section 18. The party prevailing upon such action shall be entitled to costs, except as otherwise provided.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 19 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 19 - Remedies

Section 19. No action shall be maintained at common law for the recovery of damages for the erection, maintenance or use of a mill or mill dam, if a remedy therefor is provided in this chapter.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 20 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 20 - Existing Mills and Dams; Effect of This Chapter

Section 20. This chapter shall not, except as herein expressly provided, affect the right to keep up, maintain and use any lawfully existing water mill and mill dam; but if the owner or occupant thereof makes any material change by raising the dam or by altering the machinery or the manner of using the water, so as to cause additional damage to the land of another, it shall be considered a new mill or dam, in respect to such additional damage, and the remedy for compensation therefor shall be substantially the same as in the case of a new dam.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 21 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 21 - Reassessment; New Action

Section 21. If either party is dissatisfied with the annual compensation established by proceedings upon a civil action under this chapter or corresponding provisions of earlier laws, a new action may be commenced for the increase or diminution of such compensation or for ascertaining the gross amount of the damages, and the action shall be conducted substantially in the manner provided for an original action; but if a plaintiff has declined to accept gross damages which have been awarded to him, they shall not be again assessed within ten years thereafter.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 22 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 22 - Reassessment; Parties; Time

Section 22. Such new action may be maintained by and against either of the parties to the original action or by and against a person lawfully holding under either of them, but it shall not be brought until the expiration of one month after the payment of the year last preceding was due.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 23 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 23 - Costs; Avoidance by Offer to Pay Increased Compensation

Section 23. The owner of the mill or dam may, within said month, offer in writing to the owner of the land any increase of said annual compensation; and if the owner of the land does not agree to accept it, but brings an action to obtain an increase, he shall pay the costs, unless he recovers a greater annual compensation than was so offered.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 24 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 24 - Costs; Avoidance by Offer to Accept Smaller Compensation

Section 24. The owner of the land may, within said month, offer in writing to the owner of the mill or dam to accept a smaller amount than that established as said annual compensation; and if the owner of the mill or dam does not agree to pay such reduced compensation, but brings an action to obtain a diminution thereof, he shall pay the costs, unless the annual compensation is reduced by the verdict to an amount less than the offer.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 25 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 25 - Offer to Tenants

Section 25. Such offers may be made by or to the respective tenants or occupants of the land and of the mill or dam, in like manner and with like effect as if made by or to the respective owners, except that no agreement founded thereon shall bind said owners unless made with their consent.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 26 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 26 - Acceptance of Offer; Effect

Section 26. If the offer so made by either party is accepted by the other, it shall establish the annual compensation to be thereafter paid, as if it had been established by a judgment in a civil action, if a memorandum of such offer and acceptance and of the agreement, signed by the respective parties or by persons authorized by them, is filed and recorded in the office of the clerk of the court in which the former judgment was rendered, with a note of reference on the record of the former judgment to the book in which the agreement is recorded.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 27 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 27 - Verdict; Effect Upon Action for New Damages

Section 27. If, upon an action by the owner of the land, the jury return a verdict that he is not entitled to any annual compensation, the judgment thereon shall not bar a new action for damages alleged to have arisen after such verdict and for compensation for damages thereafter sustained.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 28 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 28 - Tender; Effect on Costs

Section 28. In every civil action brought by the owner of land alleged to be injured by a mill dam, the defendant may bring into court and there tender any amount which he considers proper to be paid to the plaintiff for the damages incurred up to the time of such tender, and may also offer to pay any certain annual compensation for the damages which may be thereafter caused by the dam. If the plaintiff does not accept the amount so tendered with his costs to that time, he shall, unless he recovers greater damages or greater annual compensation than was so offered, be entitled to his costs to the time of the tender, and the defendant shall be entitled to his costs after said time.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 29 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 29 - Tender; Judgment Upon Acceptance; Costs

Section 29. If the plaintiff accepts the amount so offered for the past damage and for future annual compensation, he shall have judgment therefor and for costs to that time; or the plaintiff may accept either the amount tendered for past damages or the offer for future annual compensation, and proceed to trial on the residue of the complaint under the same liability for costs.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 30 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 30 - Action; Joinder of Parties

Section 30. Two or more persons who are jointly or separately interested in the land injured may join in a civil action, and the jury may assess joint or several damages as the interest and title of the plaintiffs may require; and judgment and execution shall conform thereto.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 32 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 32 - Reversal of Judgment for Plaintiff; New Action; Time Limit

Section 32. If a judgment for the plaintiff is reversed for error, the plaintiff, or any person claiming under him, may commence a new action for the same cause within one year after the reversal of the judgment, and recover all damages sustained during the three years last preceding or at any time after the commencement of the original action.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 33 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 33 - Overflowing Public Ways; Petition

Section 33. If a person who owns, erects or maintains a water mill or a dam to raise water for working such mill upon or across a stream not navigable desires to raise, erect or maintain a dam at such a height or in such a manner as to overflow or otherwise injure an existing public way, he may apply by petition to the commissioner of environmental protection, hereinafter called the commissioner, stating the height at which it is desired to maintain such dam and the ways which may be injured thereby, and asking for the alteration, change of grade or specific repairs of such ways.
MA Gen L ch 253 § 34 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases|Chapter 253 - Mills, Dams and Reservoirs|Section 34 - Notice

Section 34. Notice of the hearing upon such petition shall be given to the towns where the ways are situated, and to the owners or occupants of the land affected thereby, in like manner as notice of the laying out of highways is given.