Property disputes carry high stakes because land itself is often a client’s most significant asset- a family homestead, a commercial parcel, or a development site whose value depends entirely on how a boundary, a taking, or a tax assessment is resolved. Egan, Flanagan and Cohen represents property owners, developers, businesses, and municipalities across Western Massachusetts in land use matters and property disputes of every scale, from a disputed boundary line to a multimillion-dollar eminent domain taking.
Trial experience before the Massachusetts Land Court.
Our attorneys regularly appear before the Massachusetts Land Court and the Massachusetts Trial Court to resolve title disputes, boundary and easement conflicts, adverse possession claims, and disputes involving registered land. We handle zoning appeals, variance and special permit litigation, and challenges to municipal land use decisions before local zoning boards, planning boards, and the courts that review them..
A proven record in eminent domain.
Few firms in Western Massachusetts can match our record in eminent domain and land valuation disputes. Our attorneys have obtained some of the largest eminent domain verdicts and settlements in the region, representing property owners against government takings and fighting to ensure that just compensation reflects the true value of what has been taken.
Attorneys at Egan, Flanagan and Cohen secured a landmark victory for Massachusetts property owners in Central Water District Associates v. Cedar Meadow Lake Watershed District, 80 Mass. App. Ct. 1108 (2011). By successfully challenging the use of simple interest on a long-delayed eminent domain award, the firm helped establish the principle that compound interest may be constitutionally required to provide full and fair compensation when the government takes private property. Whether a client is facing a full or partial taking, a temporary easement, or a dispute over valuation or interest methodology, our litigators bring the same trial-tested approach that has produced landmark results across the firm’s broader litigation practice.
The firm’s eminent domain experience also extends to complex valuation disputes. In Krutiak v. Town of Cheshire, 71 Mass. App. Ct. 1108 (2008), the firm represented landowners in a partial taking for a municipal water supply, securing a jury verdict of $555,000 — nearly seventeen times the town’s initial pro tanto offer of $33,000 — and successfully defended that verdict on appeal, establishing important precedent on the valuation of land enhanced by its capacity to furnish a public water supply.
Whether a client is facing a full or partial taking, a temporary easement, or a dispute over valuation or interest methodology, our litigators bring the same trial-tested approach that has already produced landmark results.
Property tax abatements and appeals.
Property valuation disputes don’t only arise in the context of a taking. When a municipal assessment overstates a property’s value, our attorneys represent owners in seeking tax abatements at the local level and, when necessary, pursuing appeals before the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board. We bring the same valuation expertise that informs our eminent domain practice to these matters, helping commercial and residential property owners ensure they aren’t paying more than their fair share.
Full-spectrum land use and property dispute experience:
- Massachusetts Land Court Litigation
- Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Disputes
- Property Tax Abatements and Appellate Tax Board Appeals
- Boundary Line and Easement Disputes
- Adverse Possession Claims
- Title Disputes and Quiet Title Actions
- Zoning and Special Permit Appeals
- Variance Litigation
- Registered Land and Registry of Deeds Matters
- Neighbor and Property Line Disputes
Counsel before disputes escalate — and when they can’t be avoided.
Not every land use matter ends in litigation. Our attorneys regularly advise clients on permitting strategy, zoning compliance, and land use planning to prevent disputes before they start. But when a dispute can’t be resolved informally, clients benefit from litigators with a track record of trying these cases to verdict, not simply negotiating around them.
Whether the matter involves a residential boundary dispute, a commercial tax abatement, or a taking valued in the millions, Egan, Flanagan and Cohen brings the same rigor, judgment, and trial-tested experience to every land use matter we handle.
