Partner Noel Di Carlo featured in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s coverage of Gikow v. Cleary.
The case examined whether abutters could enforce a 2009 deed restriction that resembled an expired one, and the court said yes.
DiCarlo explained that the ruling confirms even a restriction buried in a decades-old deed can be enforceable if imposed intentionally, and that such intent may be proven through evidence outside the record title.
“This decision is particularly terrifying for developers,” she said. “Title searches won’t catch [such a restriction], and abutters now have standing to block development not just through zoning, but through deed restrictions that may have been quietly revived. It’s a land use minefield.”
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