The Massachusetts Land Court is one of the departments of the Trial Court of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. The court is unique among the courts of Massachusetts and among state courts in general because its

subject-matter jurisdiction Subject-matter jurisdiction (also called jurisdiction ''ratione materiae')'' is the authority of a court to hear cases of a particular type or cases relating to a specific subject matter. For instance, bankruptcy court only has the authority ...

is limited to disputes involving

real property In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, is land which is the property of some person and all structures (also called improvements or fixtures) integrated with or affixe ...

Jurisdiction

The court's geographic

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

covers all of Massachusetts. The court usually sits in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, but may hold trials at other locations when necessary.Land Court Jurisdiction
/ref>

Exclusive jurisdiction

The Land Court has exclusive and

original jurisdiction In common law legal systems original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision. India In India, the Sup ...

over the registration of title to real property (discussed ''infra''), over all matters and disputes concerning such title after registration, and over the

foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan. Formally, a mortg ...

and redemption of real estate

tax lien A tax lien is a lien which is imposed upon a property by law in order to secure the payment of taxes. A tax lien may be imposed for the purpose of collecting delinquent taxes which are owed on real property or personal property, or it may be im ...

Concurrent jurisdiction

The Land Court shares jurisdiction over other property matters with other court departments. The court's jurisdiction overlaps significantly with that of the

Massachusetts Superior Court The Massachusetts Superior Court (also known as the Superior Court Department of the Trial Court) is a trial court department in Massachusetts. The Superior Court has original jurisdiction in civil actions over $50,000, and in matters where equita ...

in many instances, because the Superior Court has original jurisdiction in civil actions over $25,000, and in matters where

equitable relief Equitable remedies are judicial remedies developed by courts of Equity (law), equity from about the time of Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII to provide more flexible responses to changing social conditions than was possible in precedent-based commo ...

is sought. The court has

concurrent jurisdiction Concurrent jurisdiction exists where two or more courts from different systems simultaneously have jurisdiction over a specific case. This situation leads to forum shopping, as parties will try to have their civil or criminal case heard in the c ...

with the Superior Court over

specific performance Specific performance is an equitable remedy in the law of contract, whereby a court issues an order requiring a party to perform a specific act, such as to complete performance of the contract. It is typically available in the sale of land law, ...

of real estate contracts, over petitions for

partitions Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

of real estate, and over the processing of mortgage foreclosure cases. The Land Court shares jurisdiction with the Superior Court and the Housing Court over matters arising out of decisions by local planning boards and zoning boards of appeal.Se
M.G.L. c. 40A, § 17

Permit Session

Beginning in August 2006, the

Massachusetts Legislature The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, w ...

established a separate session of the Land Court, known as the "permit session". This session has original jurisdiction over certain civil actions involving land use and environmental permitting. This jurisdiction is also concurrent with the Superior Court.

Responsibilities of the court

Apart from adjudicating cases,

registration Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

to real property is one of the Land Court's most important responsibilities. Registration of title under Massachusetts state law occurs when the Land Court, after having the title exhaustively searched by a Court-appointed examiner, and after due process is afforded to all interested parties, reviews and then adjudicates and decrees the state of the title. Once this process is complete, the current state of the title, as it is sequentially updated by registration of future transactions, is embodied in a certificate of title which both evidences and guarantees title, subject only to the exceptions provided by statute and matters of federal law. The initial decree of registration and the subsequent certificate of title are actions ''

in rem ''In rem'' jurisdiction ("power about or against 'the thing) is a legal term describing the power a court may exercise over property (either real or personal) or a "status" against a person over whom the court does not have ''in personam'' jurisdi ...

''. Registration is useful when title is insufficient to support a conclusion of ownership under the traditional

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

system, or is clearly defective, and the putative owner desires to make the title good and marketable.History of the Land Court
/ref> The court employs a staff of engineers and surveyors to help accomplish the task of determining land title and boundaries. The Land Court also has superintendency authority over the registered land office in each registry of deeds.

History

The Land Court was originally created by the Massachusetts Legislature in 1898 as the "Court of Registration". The court's name was changed to the "Court of Land Registration" in 1900, before it was finally given its current name in 1904. Over the first few years of its existence, the Court was brought into its current status as a

court of record A court of record is a trial court or appellate court in which a record of the proceedings is captured and preserved, for the possibility of appeal. A court clerk or a court reporter takes down a record of oral proceedings. That written recor ...

on a par with the Superior Court. Until the creation of the

Massachusetts Appeals Court The Massachusetts Appeals Court is the intermediate appellate court of Massachusetts. It was created in 1972 as a court of general appellate jurisdiction. The court is located at the John Adams Courthouse at Pemberton Square in Boston, the same ...

in 1972, it was the only court of statewide jurisdiction other than the Supreme Judicial Court. The original text of Land Court cases is provided by Westlaw, Mass Cases and LexisNexis. A law reporter with Land Court cases, commentary, and subject matter indices is provided by Landlaw Inc.

References

External links

Official homepage of the Land Court Department
��Chapter 185 of the

Massachusetts General Laws The Massachusetts General Laws is a codification of many of the statutes of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Commonwealth's laws are promulgated by an elected bicameral ("two-chamber") legislative body, the Massachusetts General Court. ...

Massachusetts Land Court Reporter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Massachusetts Land Court

Land Court Land court or land claims court is a type of court which is charged with dealings over cases involving land titles and for disputes between landlords and tenants relating to agricultural tenancies. The exact field of jurisdiction varies by country ...

1898 establishments in Massachusetts

Real property law