Favorable high court ruling could impact airport land dispute
BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER
The state's Supreme Judicial Court last Thursday ruled in favor of William Devine, who fought an airport claim to his Nantucket property in Madequecham. Now airport officials and Eric Shaw, who are engaged in a similar scenario, await more information on how the July 19 ruling will affect Shaw's case.

ROB BENCHLEY/The Independen file Eric Shaw, right, at home with his family earlier this year. "In my view this calls into question the entire legal strategy of the Airport Commission spending taxpayers' money on legal fees to pursue hopeless cases," Shaw said this week.

The SJC decision concluded that the town's 1968 taking of Devine's property was lax in following proper procedures in

identifying and notifying the property owner and in recording the taking in town records. Devine bought his 25,000 square-foot parcel in 1985 from owner Lewis Carmer. The town subsequently charged Devine property

taxes and issued him a building

permit for a house. In 2001, Devine received a letter from the town saying it owned the land that Devine had begun to excavate. The town proceeded to fill in the building site, pulled Devine's building permit and imposed a cease and desist order, then moved the airport's fence to include Devine's land.

Eric Shaw bought his .14-acre property at 58 Madequecham Valley Road in the spring of 2003 after having its title searched and finding no cloud preventing transfer of ownership from previous owners, including the last one who developed the property with town approval. In the fall of 2005, Shaw got a letter informing him that the town had taken the land in 1941 and the airport claimed rights to the property under the house.

Shaw filed a suit in Boston Land Court, then began trying to negotiate with the Airport Commission to find a reasonable financial solution so he and his family could remain where they live yearround. Shaw and airport officials came to an agreement prior to April's annual Town Meeting, and a citizen's warrant article sponsored by Shaw regarding this meeting of the minds was unanimously approved by voters. The idea was for Shaw to buy the land and receive clear ownership rights.

Then negotiations between a town lawyer and Shaw's lawyer and insurance company stalled. Shaw made offers the commission felt were too low and the airport asked a price Shaw deemed too high. They could not agree on how to reach an amount that both sides felt was fair and balanced.

Although Shaw is buoyed by the SJC ruling, he has no idea how or if it will help his case or how much longer it will take to come to a mutual arrangement with the town.

"The Airport Commission has always pointed to [the Devine case] as important in how our case was determined," Shaw said the day after the ruling. "Our key argument is the same as in the Devine case and is more egregious because [ours] was a 1941 taking. They kept Devine from building. They didn't do that with us, but the argument is the same. It's a complex legal argument, but the lawyers tell us that the facts are even more favorable to us than in the Devine case.

"In my view this calls into question the entire legal strategy of the Airport Commission spending taxpayers' money on legal fees to pursue hopeless cases," Shaw added, saying that he believes if a settlement is not reached the case will go to Nantucket Superior Court which he anticipates will use the SJC determination in its decision.

Foley Vaughan, chairman of the Airport Commission, was also reached on Friday. He said the commission has asked the town's attorneys to investigate the impact of the Devine decision and consult with them in terms of proceeding with the Shaw case.

"This is just a wrinkle in the negotiations with the [Shaw's] insurance company," said Vaughan. "I think [the Devine decision] has an impact, but I want to see

what the lawyers have to say about it." I