reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 10a - Payment of Damages; Enforcement of Provisions of Certain Sections; Petition for Writ of Mandamus

Section 10A. Compliance with the provisions of sections six, seven, seven A, seven B, seven C, seven D, eight A, nine, ten and thirty-six A may be enforced against any person having a duty of compliance therewith by writ of mandamus issued upon the petition of any person adversely affected by noncompliance therewith. The body politic or corporate on behalf of which the taking was made shall be joined in any such petition, and the petitioner may recover therefrom in the same proceeding damages sustained by reason of such noncompliance, with costs.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, noncompliance with said sections six, seven, seven A, seven B, seven C, seven D, eight A, nine and ten shall not affect the validity of the proceedings under this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 11 - Land Lying in More Than One Governmental Unit; Petition for Award of Damages

Section 11. If a single parcel of land taken or injured by a private corporation lies in more than one county or in more than one town, a petition for an award of damages under section seven may be made to the appropriate board of officers of either of such counties or of either of such towns. The board of officers to whom petition is first made shall have exclusive jurisdiction thereof, and shall award said damages as though the land lay entirely in one county, or in one town. If land injured by a public improvement lies outside the commonwealth, the petition may be made to the board which would have jurisdiction if it lay in the same county, or in the same town, as such public improvement.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 12 - Measure of Damages; Federal Reimbursement

Section 12. The damages for property taken under this chapter shall be fixed at the value thereof before the recording of the order of taking, and in case only part of a parcel of land is taken there shall be included damages for all injury to the part not taken caused by the taking or by the public improvement for which the taking is made; and there shall be deducted the benefit accruing to the part not taken unless it was stated in the order of taking that betterments were to be assessed. In determining the damages to a parcel of land injured when no part of it has been taken, regard shall be had only to such injury as is special and peculiar to such parcel, and there shall be deducted the benefit accruing to such parcel, unless it was stated in the order of taking, or if there was no taking in the order for the establishment, construction, alteration, repair or discontinuance of the public improvement which caused the injury, that betterments were to be assessed. Whenever the title or interest taken is such that the property will be exempt from taxation so long as it is held and used for the purpose for which it is taken, the damages for the taking shall include an amount or amounts separately determined and stated which shall be estimated to be equal to that portion of the tax assessed upon the property for the fiscal year in which it is taken which, if the tax were apportioned pro rata according to the number of days in such fiscal year, would be allocable to the days ensuing after the taking, and an additional amount equal to the tax assessed against the property for the ensuing fiscal year, if the taking is made between January first and June thirtieth inclusive. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, in a program eligible for federal financial assistance, whenever the federal government authorizes a federal agency to allow a measure of damage, or other standard for payments to owners of property taken which would increase the payments to said owners over the measure of damages set forth hereunder, then in such cases the measure of damages shall be the measure of damages set forth hereunder plus any such increase, provided that the taking agency will receive partial or full reimbursement from the federal government for such increase.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 12a - Property Taken Diminished in Value by Disaster; Full Compensation; Determination of Fair Market Value; Time Limit

Section 12A. Notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary, if property which is known to be subject to an imminent taking under this chapter is diminished in value by a disaster as determined by the President of the United States pursuant to section 102 of the Disaster Relief Act of 1970, 42 U.S.C. 4402(1), prior to or within two years after the recording of such order of taking, the damages for such property not compensated by insurance or otherwise shall be fixed at the fair market value prior to the time of the disaster. If property diminished in value by such a disaster is not subject to the original notice of taking but, within said two years, is included within such order of taking, damages for such property shall also be fixed at the fair market value prior to the time of the disaster.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 13 - Buildings and Trees on Land Taken

Section 13. If there are trees upon or structures affixed to the land taken which are not included in the taking, the owner may remove the same, but the damages shall include the value thereof, so far as they enhance the value of the land, and the value thereof for purposes of removal shall be deducted from the damages. If part of a parcel to which structures are affixed is taken, the damages shall include the value of all structures upon such parcel so far as they enhance the value of the land, deducting therefrom the value of all structures or parts thereof left standing on the part not taken, and, if the taking did not include the structures, the value for purposes of removal of the structures upon the part taken. If the owner of trees upon land taken refuses or neglects to remove them within the time specified in the order of taking, he shall be deemed to have relinquished his rights thereto. If the owner of structures upon land taken refuses or neglects to remove them within the time specified in the order of taking, the officers having the direction and control of the public improvement in connection with which the taking was made shall sell such structures at public auction, after five days' notice of such sale, and hold the proceeds for the benefit of such owner, and the expenses of such sale shall be deducted from the owner's damages; but if such property is of less value than the estimated expense of such sale no sale need be made. In that case, or if at the sale no person bids for such property, the owner thereof shall be held to have relinquished his right thereto. If the owner of personal property lying upon land taken refuses or neglects to remove it after reasonable notice in writing from the officers having the direction and control of the public improvement in connection with which the taking was made, he shall be held to have relinquished his right thereto.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 14 - Petition to Superior Court

Section 14. A person entitled to an award of his damages under this chapter or the body politic or corporate bound to pay the same, whether a petition has or has not been filed or award made under section six, seven, nine or ten, may petition for the assessment of such damages to the superior court of the county in which the property taken or injured was situated. If a single parcel of land so taken or injured lies in more than one county, the petition may be filed in the superior court of either such county, and the court in which such petition is first filed shall have exclusive jurisdiction thereof and shall assess damages as though the land lay entirely in one county; provided, that if a petition for damages has previously been filed under section eleven, the petition to the superior court shall be filed in the same county. If the land injured lies outside the commonwealth, such petition shall be filed in the superior court of the county in which the public improvement which caused the injury is situated.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 16 - Time for Filing Petition

Section 16. A petition for the assessment of damages under section fourteen may be filed within three years after the right to such damages has vested; but any person, including every mortgagee of record, whose property has been taken or injured, and who has not received notice under section eight or otherwise of the proceedings whereby he is entitled to damages at least sixty days before the expiration of such three years, may file such petition within six months after the taking possession of his property or the receipt by him of actual notice of the taking, whichever first occurs, or, if his property has not been taken, within six months after he first suffers actual injury in his property.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 17 - Time for Filing Petition When Original Proceedings Quashed

Section 17. If a person petitions for an award or assessment of his damages within the time limited by law, or is a party to such petition by another person, and the petition is quashed, abated or otherwise avoided or defeated for any inaccuracy, irregularity or matter of form, or if, after verdict for such petitioner or other party, the judgment is arrested or reversed on a writ of error, or the proceedings are quashed on certiorari, such petitioner or other party may begin such proceedings anew within one year after such abatement, reversal or other determination.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 18 - Time for Filing Petition When Validity of Taking Is Contested

Section 18. If a suit, in which the right of a body politic or corporate to effect a particular public improvement or to make a particular taking is drawn in question, is brought within the time for filing a petition to the proper tribunal for an award or assessment of the damages caused by such improvement or taking, or within six months after the determination of an earlier suit involving the same question, brought within the time for filing such petition, which failed for want of jurisdiction, defect of form or other like cause not decisive of the merits of the controversy, the petition may be filed within six months after the final determination of such suit.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 19 - Time for Filing Petition if Improvement Delayed by Law

Section 19. If the time for locating or constructing a public improvement by a private corporation shall be extended by statute, all unsettled claims against the corporation for damages to land shall be revived, and the claimants for such damages may petition to the proper tribunal within one year after the taking effect of such statute. This section shall not apply to cases in which, by reason of a defect in the original location of a public improvement already constructed, there has been a new location thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 20 - Petition by Guardian, Conservator or Trustee

Section 20. If damages may be recovered under this chapter for the taking of or injury to property of a person under guardianship or conservatorship or property held in trust, the guardian, conservator or trustee may petition for and recover, and may release all such damages in like manner as if the land or other property were held in his own right.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 21 - Procedure on Death of Person Entitled to Damages

Section 21. If a person who is entitled to petition for an award or assessment of his damages under this chapter dies without filing such petition within the time limited therefor, his executor or administrator may within one year from the date of his appointment file such petition in the same manner and with the same effect as if filed by the deceased in his lifetime.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 22 - Pleading and Procedure; Entry of Judgment

Section 22. A complaint brought under section fourteen shall name all parties adversely interested who are known to the petitioner, and process shall issue and service be made in accordance with the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure. Any defense to the petition not relating to the amount of damages shall be pleaded within thirty days after the service of process; provided that no answer relating solely to the amount of damages shall be filed by any party and no person shall be defaulted for failure to enter an appearance. All matters pertaining to the litigation shall be heard by a judge in the superior court department, and there shall be one trial before a jury, unless all parties waive trial by jury and file a written agreement requesting a trial without a jury. Interrogatories may be filed with the same effect as in other civil actions. In case of trial by jury, if either party requests it, the jury shall view the premises. Judgment shall be entered and execution issued as in other civil actions, except that if final judgment is entered in favor of the plaintiff against the commonwealth for damages, the clerk of the superior court for the county where such judgment is entered shall, within seven days after the final disposition of the case and the expiration of all rights to appeal therefrom, transmit a certified copy of the docket entries and a certificate of such judgment showing the amount due from the commonwealth, to the comptroller who shall notify the governor. The governor shall draw his warrant for such amount on the state treasurer, who shall pay the same, with such interest as is authorized by section thirty-seven.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 23 - Petition of Persons Holding Different Interests in Same Property

Section 23. If joint tenants, or tenants in common, or other persons having joint or several estates or interests in a single piece of property sustain damages in such property which are recoverable under this chapter, they may join in any petition to recover the damages thereby incurred, or any one or more of them may petition for his or their damages, subject to sections twenty-four to thirty-three, inclusive.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 24 - Damages Sustained by Tenant for Life or Years and Remaindermen; Trust

Section 24. If a tenant for life or for years and the remainderman or reversioner sustain damages which are recoverable under this chapter, by the taking of their property by eminent domain or by injury thereto under authority of law, or if property so taken or injured is encumbered by a contingent remainder, executory devise or power of appointment, entire damages shall be assessed without apportionment thereof, and shall be paid to, or be recoverable by, any person whom the parties may appoint, and be held in trust by him for their benefit according to their respective interests. The trustee shall, from the income thereof, pay to the reversioner or remainderman the value of any annual rent or other payment which would, but for such damages, have been payable by the tenant, and the balance thereof to such tenant during the period for which his estate was limited, and upon its termination, he shall pay the principal to the reversioner or remainderman.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 25 - Amount of Damages Placed in Trust; Damages Special to Separate Estate

Section 25. The amount so to be placed in trust shall include only the damages assessed to the whole property; and any damage special to a separate estate therein, and all interest or other earnings which accrue between the taking and the receipt by the trustee of the damages to the whole property, shall be awarded in the same proceedings separately.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 26 - Trustees for Persons With Legal Disability; Appointment; Bond

Section 26. If a person having an interest in such property is, by reason of legal disability, incapable of choosing a trustee, or is unascertained or not in being, or if the parties cannot agree upon a choice, the probate court of the county in which the property is situated shall, upon application of the board of officers of the body politic or corporate whose duty it is to award the damages, or of any person interested or of any other person, acting in behalf of such persons, whether in being or not, as may by any possibility be or become interested in said property, appoint a trustee, who shall give to the judge of probate a bond with such sureties and in such sum as the judge may order, conditioned for the faithful performance of his duties.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 27 - Persons Holding Unusual Interests; Right to Petition

Section 27. If there are several parties, who have several estates in the same property at the same time, other than the estates and interests for which provision is made in section twenty-four, and the property is taken in whole or in part or receives injury for which damages are recoverable under this chapter, and one of such parties petitions the superior court to ascertain his damages, the other parties may become parties to the proceedings under such petition, and the damages of all of them may be determined together, in the manner provided in the three following sections.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 28 - Notice to Other Holders of Interests

Section 28. Upon such petition, the court may order the petitioner to give notice thereof to all the other parties interested, by serving each of them with an attested copy of such petition and the order thereon fourteen days before the next return day, in order that the other parties may appear and become parties to the proceedings under the petition.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 29 - Award to Persons Holding Different Interests; Apportionment

Section 29. If, on such petition, the court or jury find any of the parties entitled to damages, there shall first be found and set forth the total amount of damages sustained by the owners of such property, estimating the same as an entire estate and as if it were the sole property of one owner in fee simple; and such damages shall then be apportioned among the several parties who are found to be entitled thereto, in proportion to their several interests and to the damages sustained by them, respectively, and such apportionment shall be set forth in the finding or verdict; and if it is found that any party has not sustained damage, it shall be set forth in the finding or verdict that he is awarded no damages. The finding or verdict shall be conclusive upon all parties interested who have become parties to the petition.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 30 - Appointment of Guardian Ad Litem or Trustee

Section 30. If it appears in any proceedings under the seven preceding sections that an interest in such property is unrepresented by reason of a contingency or other cause by which the owner thereof is unknown or cannot then be ascertained, or because of the disability of such owner, a guardian ad litem to represent such interest may be appointed by the tribunal in which such proceedings are pending; or the judge of probate for the county in which such proceedings are pending may, upon petition of any party in interest, after such notice as he may order to all persons who, or whose issue unborn may be or may become interested in such apportionment, appoint a trustee, who, upon giving such bond as the judge of probate requires, shall represent such interest, and shall receive, manage and invest any money receivable on account thereof, for the benefit of the parties entitled thereto, and shall pay the principal and interest thereof to such parties when entitled thereto. Such guardian ad litem or trustee shall be allowed such costs, including counsel fees, as may be ordered by the court in which such proceedings are finally determined, to be paid from the damages apportioned to the interest which he represents.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 31 - Petition by Tenant in Possession of Encumbered Property

Section 31. The tenant in possession of property which is encumbered by a contingent remainder, executory devise or power of appointment may, subject to section sixteen, petition the superior court for the assessment of damages; and if he fails so to petition within the first six months of the year allowed by said section, a trustee under section twenty-four or section twenty-six may within the remaining six months thereof petition therefor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 32 - Mortgaged Land; Procedure

Section 32. If property which is taken in whole or in part by eminent domain or receives injury, for which damages are recoverable under this chapter, is mortgaged, both the mortgagor and the mortgagee, in addition to their rights under the mortgage, shall have the same powers, rights and privileges, and be subject to the same liabilities and duties, as are provided in this chapter for owners of property so taken or injured, and all petitions for the award or assessment of such damages shall state all mortgages which are known by the petitioner to exist upon the property. Mortgagors and mortgagees may join in any such petition, or become parties to any proceedings for the award or assessment of damages under this chapter, and, if the petition is filed by a mortgagor or mortgagee of property taken or injured, the tribunal to which it is presented shall order the petitioner to give notice thereof to all other mortgagors or mortgagees of the same property by serving on each of them, fourteen days at least before the time of hearing, an attested copy thereof and of the order thereon, that they may become parties to the proceedings.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 33 - Apportionment of Damages Between Mortgagors and Mortgagees

Section 33. If mortgagors or mortgagees begin or become parties to such proceedings, entire damages shall, upon final judgment, be assessed for the property taken, and such portion thereof as is equal to the amount then unpaid thereon shall be ordered to be paid to every mortgagee who is a party, in the order of his mortgage, and the remainder to the mortgagor; and separate judgment shall be entered accordingly for each mortgagee, who shall hold his judgment in trust, first, with any proceeds realized thereon, to satisfy his mortgage debt, and, after such debt is in any way satisfied, to assign the judgment or pay over any remainder of the proceeds to the mortgagor or other person entitled thereto.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 34 - Request for Speedy Trial

Section 34. Upon the filing of a petition under section fourteen by or against the commonwealth or a county, city, town or district or any other legal entity which is authorized under the provisions of any general or special law to take property in whole or in part or of any interest therein by eminent domain, the court shall, at the request of any party to the proceeding, advance the same so that it may be heard and determined with as little delay as possible.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 35 - Evidence of Assessed or Fair Market Value of Property; Admissibility

Section 35. The valuation made by the assessors of a town for the purposes of taxation for the three years next preceding the date of the taking of or injury to real estate by the commonwealth or by a county, city, town or district under authority of law may, in proceedings, brought under section fourteen to recover the damages to such real estate, the whole or part of which is so taken or injured, be introduced as evidence of the fair market value of the real estate by any party to the suit; provided, however, that if the valuation of any one year is so introduced, the valuations of all three years shall be introduced in evidence; and provided, further, that no such valuation shall be so introduced as such evidence unless within the five years preceding such taking or injury there has been a comprehensive revaluation of the real estate of the town and the valuation or valuations sought to be introduced are valuations assessed after such comprehensive revaluation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 35a - Apportionment of Taxes

Section 35A. In case of a trial by jury in a proceeding brought under section fourteen, the amount, if any, to which the petitioner is entitled by reason of the tax assessed upon the property in the year in which it was taken, as provided in section twelve, shall be separately determined by the court, either upon stipulation of the parties or upon evidence received, after the jury has rendered its verdict.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 36a - Payment of Damages After Exhaustion or Waiver of Right to Appeal

Section 36A. The body politic or corporate against which an award is made under section seven, nine or ten, or against which a judgment is entered under section fourteen, shall, within thirty days after all rights of appeal therefrom have been exhausted or waived, make payment in accordance with such award or judgment.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 37 - Interest on Award of Damages

Section 37. Damages under this chapter shall bear interest at the rate calculated pursuant to the provisions of this section from the date on which the right to damages under this chapter vested until paid, except that an award shall not bear interest after it is payable unless the body politic or corporate liable therefor fails upon demand to pay the same to the person entitled thereto. Interest shall be added by the clerk of the court to the damages expressed in a verdict, finding, or order for judgment. A judgment, whether against the commonwealth or any other body politic or corporate, shall bear interest at the rate calculated pursuant to the provisions of this section from the date of the entry of such judgment to and including the last day of the month prior to the month in which such judgment is satisfied, except that a judgment against the commonwealth shall not bear interest if it is satisfied within thirty days of such entry.
Where the period for which prejudgment interest is owed is not more than one year, such interest shall be calculated at an annual rate equal to the weekly average one-year constant maturity treasury yield, as published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, for the calendar week preceding the date on which the right to damages under this chapter vested. Where the period for which prejudgment interest is owed is more than one year, such interest for the first year shall be calculated in accordance with the preceding sentence, and such interest for each additional year shall be calculated on the principal amount due at an annual rate equal to the weekly average one-year constant maturity treasury yield, as published by the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System, for the calendar week preceding the beginning of each additional year. Post–judgment interest shall be calculated in the same manner as pre-judgment interest, but using, in the first year after judgment, the rate for the calendar week preceding the date on which judgment entered, and in any additional year, the rate for the calendar week preceding the beginning of such additional year.
The secretary of administration and finance shall maintain a schedule of the rates described herein for distribution, upon request, to all clerks of courts and all board of officers upon whom authority to take real estate by eminent domain under this chapter on behalf of any body politic or corporate that has been conferred by law.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 38 - Costs

Section 38. In all proceedings before county commissioners under this chapter, section eighteen of chapter thirty-four shall be applicable. In all proceedings brought under section fourteen, if a petition is filed after an award of damages has been made and the damages are increased, or if no award has been made and the petitioner is found to be entitled to damages, he shall recover costs, which shall be taxed as in actions at law; otherwise he shall pay costs.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 39 - Settlement and Tender; Interest

Section 39. Whenever damages may be recovered under this chapter, the body politic or corporate liable for such damages may after the right to such damages has become vested effect such settlement of the damages with the person entitled thereto as it may deem to be for its best interests, and it may as one of the terms of the settlement of a claim for damages growing out of the proceedings in respect of which betterments have been or are to be assessed agree in writing with the owner of the land assessed to assume such betterments. Every settlement under this section shall be in writing and in full satisfaction of all damages for such taking with interest thereon and taxable costs, if any. After approval of such settlement by the board of officers who made the taking for which damages are sought, or after acceptance of an offer of such settlement by the person seeking such damages, whichever occurs later, the amount of such settlement shall bear interest at the rate calculated pursuant to the provisions of section thirty-seven from the date of such settlement to and including the last day of the month prior to the month in which payment thereof is made or tendered.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 40 - Taking by Private Corporations; Security for Damages

Section 40. Before a taking is made or injury inflicted by a private corporation for which damages may be recovered under this chapter, such corporation shall give to the board of officers by whom such damages are to be awarded security to their satisfaction for the payment of all damages and costs which may be awarded by them or by the court for the land or other property taken or injured; and if, upon petition of the owner and notice to the adverse party, any security taken appears to them to have become insufficient, they shall require the corporation to give further security to their satisfaction. If the corporation fails to comply with this section any person entitled to such damages may treat the taking of his property or the proceedings by which the right to inflict injury thereon was acquired as void and any interference by such corporation with the use and enjoyment of his property as unlawful.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 41 - Finality of Award; Remedy for Collection

Section 41. If no petition under section fourteen is filed within the time limited, the award of damages shall be final and the amount thereof shall be paid upon demand, and if not so paid may be recovered in an action of contract.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 42 - Remedies to Enforce Payment by Private Corporations

Section 42. If a private corporation has erected or laid poles, wires, pipes, rails or other structures in a public way, for the construction, operation or maintenance of which damages may be recovered from such corporation under this chapter by the owners of any interest in land abutting upon such way, and such corporation does not pay such damages to an owner of any such interest after they have been finally determined and within thirty days after demand, the mayor of the city or the selectmen of the town in which such structures are located may, upon request of such owner, remove all the structures of such corporation from that portion of the public way upon which the land in which such person has an interest abuts, first leaving a written statement at the office of such corporation in such city or town of the time when and place from which they intend to remove such structures, not less than forty-eight hours prior to such removal. If such corporation has no office in such town, such notice shall be deposited in the post office, postage prepaid, and directed to such corporation at its principal office in the commonwealth. The town so removing any such structures may recover the expense thereof of such corporation. This section shall not prevent such owner from collecting the damages assessed.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 43 - Right Less Than Fee; Effect of Abandonment on Award of Damages

Section 43. When any easement or other right less than the fee which has been taken by eminent domain has been abandoned in accordance with law before the damages accruing from such taking have been finally determined, the fact of such abandonment may be considered in reduction of damages in any proceedings under this chapter for the award or assessment thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 44 - Taking by United States

Section 44. If the agents of the United States and the persons owning or interested in any property which is required for any purposes for which the United States is authorized to take property by eminent domain cannot agree upon the price to be paid for the interest of such persons therein, the United States may file a petition in the superior court for the county in which such property lies, praying for the condemnation of such property. Such petition shall contain a description of the property to which it relates, sufficiently accurate for identification, and a statement of the purpose for which it is sought to be taken. If the court, after notice to all parties interested, finds that the United States has the right to take such property by eminent domain, it shall determine the value thereof in accordance with this chapter, so far as it is applicable. If such value with costs and reasonable expenses to be taxed by the court is, within thirty days after final determination thereof, paid or tendered to said owners or parties interested, or in case of their neglect or refusal to receive the same, if it is paid to the commonwealth for their use and subject to their order, a decree of condemnation shall be entered by the court, and, if the property taken consists of real estate, a copy of the decree shall be recorded in the registry of deeds of every county or district in which said property or any of it lies, and the fee of said property shall thereupon vest in the United States.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 44a - Tax Liens on Realty Taken

Section 44A. If real estate taken in whole or in part by eminent domain was at the time of said taking subject to any lien for taxes, assessments or other charges, which is extinguished by such taking, and if the collector of taxes of the town in which such real estate is located gives written notice of a claim of the amount covered by such lien to the body politic or corporate, on behalf of which such taking was made, prior to the payment of any award of damages for such taking or to the entry of judgment therefor, said collector shall be entitled to be paid such amount before any payment of damages for such taking is made to any other party; and any amount so payable on account of such taxes, assessments or other charges shall be deducted from the amount of such damages otherwise payable.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79 - Eminent Domain › Section 45 - Applicability of Chapter

Section 45. No real estate shall be taken for public use by the formal vote or order of any board of officers except under this chapter or chapter eighty A, and no damages shall be assessed for the taking or seizure of property for a public purpose or for injury thereto by authority of law, except under this chapter or chapter eighty A, notwithstanding any general or special act hitherto enacted; provided, that nothing contained in this chapter or in chapter eighty A shall be construed as amending or in any way affecting chapter two hundred and fifty-three.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79a - Relocation Assistance › Section 2 - Relocation Advisory Agency; Necessity of Qualification Prior to Displacement of Occupants

Section 2. No acquisition, rehabilitation, demolition, or other improvement which shall involve the displacement of occupants of dwelling units or business units shall be made unless and until the bureau has qualified a relocation advisory agency to give relocation assistance to the occupants to be displaced. Any agency, public or private, may be qualified by the bureau to act as a relocation agency until such time as the bureau may, on stated grounds, withdraw qualifications; or the bureau may qualify any agency, public or private, proposed by a displacing agency to act as a relocation agency with respect to particular acquisitions. The bureau may qualify a displacing agency to act as the relocation agency with respect to particular acquisitions.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79a - Relocation Assistance › Section 3 - Projects Displacing Occupants; Agencies to Provide Relocation Assistance

Section 3. Any public agency, or any person authorized to take by eminent domain, including corporations established under the provisions of chapter one hundred and twenty-one A, shall provide relocation assistance and payments under this act upon undertaking a project which results in displacement of occupants by the acquisition of real property or by the issuing of a written order to vacate for purposes of rehabilitation, demolition, or other improvement.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79a - Relocation Assistance › Section 4 - Relocation Plans; Submission; Contents

Section 4. At the time of the submission of an application for public approval or funding for a project involving the displacement of more than five dwelling or business units, the displacing agency shall submit to the bureau of relocation a relocation plan. The relocation plan shall show the names and addresses of all occupants to be displaced; the number of individuals, families, and business concerns to be displaced; the date on which such displacement will begin; the needs of the displaced occupants for relocation assistance; the availability of safe and sanitary housing, commercial buildings or sites within the means of occupants to be displaced; a program for their relocation; and a demonstration in accordance with bureau regulations that the relocation agency has coordinated the plan with other planned or proposed land acquisitions in the city or town which may affect the carrying out of the relocation program.
In the case of the displacement of the occupants of less than six dwelling or business units, the displacing agency shall not be required to submit any such relocation plan, but shall provide a relocation assistance program, as set forth in section six and shall pay any such displaced occupant relocation payments, as set forth in section seven.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79a - Relocation Assistance › Section 5 - Relocation Plans; Examination; Review; Approval

Section 5. If the costs of relocation assistance are reimbursable in whole or in part by the federal government and the relocation plan is required to be examined and reviewed by an agency or department of the federal government or to comply with the requirements of an agency or department of the federal government, the bureau shall receive the relocation plan for informational purposes and for the purposes of section nine. Any relocation assistance required under this chapter which is in addition to applicable requirements under federal law shall be subject to review by the bureau to determine whether there has been compliance with the provisions of section four. The bureau shall approve any plan which has been approved by such agency or department of the federal government and complies with requirements for such additional relocation assistance.
The bureau shall review all other relocation plans to determine whether there has been compliance with the requirements of section four and any regulations which are issued from time to time by the bureau in pursuance thereof, to determine whether there has been adequate provision for the needs of occupants to be displaced and whether there are adequate relocation housing and business locations for such occupants. The bureau shall approve any relocation plan which complies with the aforesaid requirements.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79a - Relocation Assistance › Section 6 - Carrying Out Relocation Plan; Program Requirements

Section 6. After approval has been granted in accordance with the provisions of section five, the relocation agency shall be authorized to carry out the relocation plan. Each relocation assistance program shall (1) fully inform eligible persons at the earliest possible date as to the availability of relocation payments and assistance; (2) supply displaced occupants with information concerning public and private housing programs, commercial sites, and social and economic assistance programs; (3) assist in securing within a reasonable period of time prior to displacement suitable standard replacement housing within the financial means of the families and individuals displaced; (4) assist owners of displaced businesses and farm operations in obtaining and becoming established in suitable business locations or replacement farms; and (5) administer relocation payments in a fair and equitable manner.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79a - Relocation Assistance › Section 8 - Substantial Changes of Relocation Plans; Notice; Review; Approval

Section 8. The taking agency or relocation agency shall inform the bureau of any substantial changes made in the relocation plan after approval under section five; and such changes shall be subject to review and approval under the provisions of section five.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79a - Relocation Assistance › Section 9 - Suspension of Approval of Relocation Plan; Notice

Section 9. If the bureau determines that a taking agency or relocation agency is proceeding with a project in disregard of a relocation plan approved under section five, and that relocation assistance being given is inadequate, the bureau shall so notify the relocation agency and the taking agency in writing, and may suspend its approval of the plan. Upon receipt of written notice of such suspension, the taking agency shall not further displace occupants until the bureau notifies it in writing that such suspension is withdrawn. Written notice of suspension shall be sent by registered mail, and shall state the specific reasons for such suspension.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIII - Eminent Domain and Betterments › Chapter 79a - Relocation Assistance › Section 10 - Emergency Projects; Emergency Approval

Section 10. If a relocation plan required by section four is disapproved under section five, or approval is suspended under section nine, because the bureau determines that adequate relocation housing is not available, the taking agency may file with the bureau its certificate that the project involved is an emergency project which must be carried out in spite of the unavailability of such housing. If the bureau, after considering the foregoing and such other evidence as is deemed pertinent, determines that the project involved is an emergency project and that the public interest demands the displacement of occupants even though adequate relocation housing may be unavailable, emergency approval may be given, provided the relocation plan is satisfactory to the bureau in other respects.