Massachusetts Statutes

Section 39. An owner or lessee of land appropriated or which he desires to appropriate to the cultivation and growth of cranberries may erect and maintain a dam upon and across a stream to flow and irrigate said land, subject to this chapter so far as applicable; but he shall not…

Section 4. The owner or occupant of land which has been overflowed or otherwise injured by such dam may bring a civil action to obtain compensation therefor. Such action shall be commenced within three years next after the event complained of in the superior court for the county …

Section 40. If a dam has been so erected or maintained or if a person has at his own expense made, kept open or repaired any ditches or drains for the improvement or cultivation of such tract of land, any owner or lessee of a like tract, who uses such dam, ditches or drains or wh…

Section 41. An owner or lessee of land used for an ice pond may erect and, between November first and March first, maintain a dam across a stream not navigable, for the purpose of making an ice pond by flowing adjoining land, subject to this chapter so far as applicable, if he an…

Section 42. A domestic reservoir corporation may flow the land of other persons by its reservoir dam, and a person whose land or property has been flowed or injured by such dam, unless compensation has been otherwise made, may obtain compensation therefor as provided in this chap…

Section 43. The court in which an action for such compensation is pending shall, if requested by the plaintiff, require such corporation to give satisfactory security for the payment of all damages and costs which may be awarded thereon, and if the court finds that the security h…

Section 44. For the purposes of sections 44 to 48B, inclusive, the following words shall have the following meanings:— ''Abandoned dam'', a dam that has no identifiable owner or a dam in which the owner fails to respond to the owner's obligations under sections 44 to 48, inclusiv…

Section 45. The owner of any dam shall file with the commissioner on or before July 1, 2003, and before operating any dam constructed thereafter, on such form or forms prescribed by the commissioner, a dam registration form containing the name of the owner, the location and the d…

Section 45A. No person shall construct or materially alter a dam without applying for and receiving permit approval from the department. The approved permit shall be recorded at the registry of deeds in the county where the dam lies prior to commencement of construction. The appl…

Section 46. The owner of any dam shall cause to be filed with the commissioner, on or before January 1, 2004, and periodically thereafter, as required by regulation, in accordance with the hazard potential classification of the dam, as noted in the certificate of the registration…

Section 46A. When a dam has been deemed safe, removed, repaired or constructed pursuant to an order of the commissioner; or a dam has been evaluated, constructed, repaired or altered to the satisfaction of the commissioner under a properly issued permit, the commissioner shall is…

Section 47. (a) If the owner fails to take corrective action or fails to file an evaluation report, within the time specified in the order, as required in section 46, or if the owner of the dam cannot be determined, the commissioner may take such action as he deems necessary to r…

Section 48. The commissioner shall make such orders as he may deem just as to the payment by the owner to the commonwealth or other party of the costs and expenses incurred by them under the preceding 4 sections, with interest, from the time they were paid by the commonwealth. No…

Section 48A. During each fiscal year, the department of environmental management shall prepare a report on the overall effectiveness of the dam inspection and regulation program under sections 44 to 48, inclusive, including, but not limited to, the number of inspections conducted…

Section 48B. The owner of a dam shall be responsible for liability for damage to property of others or injury to persons, including but not limited to loss of life, resulting from the operation, failure of or misoperation of a dam. The provisions of sections 44 to 48, inclusive, …

Section 49. No order, approval, request or advice of the commissioner shall impair the legal duties and obligations of the owners of reservoirs, reservoir dams or mill dams or their liability for the consequences of their illegal acts or of the neglect or mismanagement of their s…

Section 50. The supreme judicial and the superior courts shall have jurisdiction to enforce the six preceding sections.

Section 50A. The department of environmental management shall, subject to the appropriation of funds for such purpose, erect signs in the vicinity of all roll dams owned or under the control of the commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions to warn boaters of the location …

Section 51. If a mill which is owned by joint tenants or tenants in common, or the dam or appurtenances of such mill, require repairs or rebuilding in whole or in part, and all the proprietors do not agree to join therein, a majority in interest of the proprietors may cause the w…

Section 52. One or more of the proprietors may call a meeting by a notice signed by the person or persons who call it, addressed to each of the other proprietors, stating that the mill, dam or appurtenances require repairs or rebuilding and that their attendance is requested at a…

Section 53. The notice shall be served by an officer qualified to serve civil process by delivering an attested copy thereof to each proprietor, or by leaving such copy at his last and usual place of abode, not less than seven nor more than thirty days before the day appointed fo…

Section 54. At such meeting, or at any adjournment thereof, the majority in interest of the proprietors of the mill may take measures to cause the mill or the dam or appurtenances thereof to be repaired or rebuilt, as they shall consider most for the interest of all concerned the…

Section 55. Each proprietor shall, upon demand, after the work is completed, pay to the proprietors by whom it has been advanced his just and equal part of the expense of such repair or rebuilding, in proportion to his share or interest in the mill, with interest from the time of…

Section 56. The proprietors who advance the money so expended shall have a lien therefor on the rents and profits of the mill and may retain so much thereof as belongs to any proprietor indebted to them for such advance, to be applied to the payment of his debt; or they may maint…

Section 57. The guardian of a proprietor may act for him in calling or attending a meeting of the proprietors, and may there vote and do all such other acts as the ward could do if competent to act.

Section 58. If part of the mill is held by a tenant for life or years, the amount due for the repairs and other expenses on that part of the mill shall be apportioned on the tenant for life or years and on the remainderman or reversioner in proportion to the value of their respec…

Section 59. A mortgagee in possession shall be considered a proprietor for the purposes of this chapter; but if the action is brought against the mortgagor before his right of redemption has been foreclosed, he shall also be liable for all amounts so due on account of his share o…

Section 60. A tenant in tail of a part of a mill shall, for the purposes of this chapter, be considered the proprietor thereof in fee simple.

Section 61. All amounts due from one or more proprietors to another for money advanced under this chapter may be recovered in a civil action. The amount so recovered shall be apportioned by the court among the plaintiffs, if more than one, according to their respective rights.

Section 62. This chapter shall not affect any contract or agreement by or between the proprietors of a mill as to the repair or rebuilding thereof.

Section 7. Such action shall be tried by a jury and, if either party requires it, the jury shall, under the direction of the court, view the land alleged to be injured.

Section 8. If the jury finds that the plaintiff has suffered the injury complained of it shall assess the amount of damages sustained within three years last preceding the commencement of the action and to the date of their verdict, taking into consideration any damage caused by …

Section 9. If it is alleged in the plaintiff's complaint that the dam has been raised to an unreasonable height, or that it ought not to be kept up and closed during the whole year, the jury shall determine by their verdict how much, if at all, the dam shall be lowered and whethe…

Section 1. A person to whom a debt is due for personal labor performed in the erection, alteration, repair or removal of a building or structure upon land or improvement or alteration to real property, by virtue of an agreement with, or by consent of, the owner of such building o…

Section 10. The lien of any person may, so far as his interest is concerned, be dissolved by a notice signed by him, stating that his lien is dissolved, filed in the registry of deeds where the notice of the contract is filed under which contract the lien is claimed.

Section 11. The lien shall be dissolved unless a civil action to enforce it is commenced within ninety days after the filing of the statement required by section eight. The validity of the lien shall not be affected by an inaccuracy in the description of the property to which it …

Section 12. Any person, including the owner, in interest in connection with a written contract covered by section two or section four may cause to be recorded in the registry of deeds in the county or district where the land lies a bond of a surety company authorized to do a sure…

Section 13. The rights of an attaching creditor shall not prevail as against a lien under section 1, nor against the claim of a lienor if notice or notices of contract have been filed or recorded in the registry of deeds under sections 2, 2C, 2D or 4 prior to the recording of the…

Section 14. Any person in interest may dissolve a lien under this chapter by recording or causing to be recorded in the registry of deeds in the county or district where the land lies, a bond of a surety company authorized to do business in Massachusetts and in a penal sum equal …

Section 15. If it appears to the court that no person is entitled to a lien, or that every lien has been discharged by payment thereof, judgment shall be entered to the effect that the lien is dissolved, and a certificate to that effect shall be sent forthwith by the clerk to the…

Section 15A. If any person in interest, including but not limited to an owner, contractor, or mortgage holder, claims (a) that any person who has provided labor or materials or has agreed to provide funding, financing or payment for labor or materials, refuses to continue to prov…

Section 17. A claim due absolutely and without condition, although not payable at the time of determination, shall be allowed with a rebate of interest to the time when it would become payable. If the owner has failed to perform his part of the contract and by reason of such fail…

Section 18. If a lien is established the court shall order a sale of the property to be made by an officer qualified to serve civil process. The court may order a sale of a part of the property sufficient to satisfy the claims allowed, if such part can be set off from the residue…

Section 19. The officer shall give notice of the time and place of sale as provided for sales of land on execution or as ordered by the court.

Section 2. A person entering into a written contract with the owner of any interest in real property, or with any person acting for, on behalf of, or with the consent of such owner for the whole or part of the erection, alteration, repair or removal of a building, structure, or o…

Section 20. An interest in land sold under this chapter may be redeemed within ninety days after such sale in the manner provided for sales of land on execution.