Press Release
Contact: Brad Shimel, Esq., 413-586-3480
Northampton Residents Sue Developer Douglas Kohl to Resolve Questions of Title and Rights-of-Way
Northampton, MA, March 13, 2008: A group of neighbors living near a proposed 26-unit condominium project on undeveloped land off North Street have filed a lawsuit with the Land Court in Boston challenging the developer’s ownership rights to the land on which the project is to be located. The plaintiffs are represented by Brad Shimel of Wilhelm, Shimel & King, a Northampton law firm.
The lawsuit names two companies affiliated with local developer Douglas Kohl and raises questions about ownership of the land which go back over 90 years. The lawsuit states the original owners never transferred title to a portion of the land. The disputed land seems to have been intended to become streets serving now outdated building lots. No such streets were ever built.
The developer now wants to use the alleged street to access the condominium project. The neighbors claim that any intent to create streets was abandoned long ago. Certain neighbors also allege they have been using portions of the land as their own for many years and that they have acquired legal rights to those portions of the land. One property owner previously won a similar case in the Hampshire Probate Court on that basis and acquired ownership to part of the alleged street.
The lawsuit asks the Land Court to determine the rights of both the neighbors and the developer. In the meantime, the lawsuit requests that the developer be ordered not to proceed with construction activities on the site.
“We further believe,” says Mr. Shimel, “that it would be wise for the City of Northampton to defer consideration of all matters relating to this land until the questions of title and rights-of-way can be resolved.” Douglas Kohl is scheduled to go before the Northampton Conservation Commission on March 13 to discuss vernal pool assessment protocol in the land in question. Vernal pools in the North Street environs can affect the rights of property owners within 100 feet of them. “It is possible that the court will find that other property owners should be included in this and other hearings related to this land,” Mr. Shimel says.
Questions about the lawsuit may be directed to Brad Shimel at 413-586-3480. For general information about the land in question, please visit the website of the North Street Neighborhood Association, http://www.northassoc.org/
Click to download the complete text of the legal complaint (PDF, 77KB)
