Colleagues-
RI Supreme Court Finds that All Contiguous Lots Did Not Merge Due to Unambiguous Map
An interesting situation in R.I. from Patty Salkin's Blog http://lawoftheland.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/ri-supreme-court-finds-that-all-contiguous-lots-did-not-merge-due-to-unambiguous-map/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LawOfTheLand+%28LAW+OF+THE+LAND%29
http://www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/SupremeCourt/OpinionsOrders/opinions/10-16.pdf
YOS
DGG
Very interesting. This proves, again, how important it is for those of us drafting subdivision plats to be absolutely positive that everything is as clear as possible to all users in perpetuity. In this case, you have Mr. Deeppockets and his Society attempting to force their view of what is better for the community onto the owners of other property. The Society should have purchased the property if they thought community control was so vital to their own goals. Many court battles end up costing far more than the true value of the real estate involved.
My thought is that the lower court judge acted appropriately. Fortunately, the higher court agreed, with one dissenting vote. The dissenter apparently loves jury trials and the associated profits for lawyers.
I would love to see the plat. Does anyone know if there is web access to what the court case calls "Map of Bungalow Sites called Musicolony Property of Dr. Franklin D. Lawson, in the Town of Westerly, Rhode Island"?
On a brief Google ......
Best I can find is a Google using:
Wagner Rd Westerly, RI 02891, USA
The street pattern looks like an old tiered type subdivision.
The Musicolony was founded by Dr. Franklin D. Lawson
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F10E12FF345412738DDDAC0A94DC405B838CF1D3
A bit more .............
The historic Shelter Harbor Inn was orginally a farmhouse built around 1810. In 1911, the property was purchased by a musician who established a colony for musicians called Musicolony.
Cheers
I found a land records website for Westerly, RI, but it's a pay site.
