Bedfordshire Lawsuit

Background

The Trustees of Bedfordshire Condominiums in Bedford MA filed a complaint against Unit Owner Barry Kort in a long-standing dispute over assessments for a Golf Course which the Trustees had constructed upon an Open Space on Condominium land and upon an adjacent Conservation Area on publicly owned Wetlands.

Bedfordshire Condominiums are located along the flowage of the Shawsheen River in Bedford Massachussets. The land alongside the river include Wetlands and Conservation Lands owned by the Town of Bedford and protected by the Bedford Conservation ByLaws and by the Wetlands Protection Act. Some Unit Owners decided to build a golf course on this land, and did so without notification to the Town, without approval from the Planning Board and Conservation Commission, and without approval of the remaining Unit Owners. The Trustees of Bedfordshire then assumed the cost of maintaining the golf course and rolled the expenses into the annual budget.

I protested the invasion and conversion of the Wetlands and Conservation Lands for the construction of an unapproved golf course, and refused to pay for it. The Trustees then filed a lawsuit in Middlesex Superior Court, seeking an order to sell my condo. I counter-sued the Trustees, alleging willful breach of trust and exceeding their lawful authority.

You can read the pleadings and outcome of the case here and send messages of support, and letters of outrage to the Trustees.

Documents and Correspondence

Here is the Complaint of the Trustees of Bedfordhsire Condominiums.

Here is the Answer and Countercomplaint of Barry Kort.

Here are the Interrogatories propounded by the Defendant upon the Plaintiff Trustees, together with their responses.

Here is the Defendant's Request for Production of Documents by the Plaintiff Trustees.

Here is the Trustees' Response to the Request for Production of Documents.

Here is the Joint PreTrial Memorandum submitted to the Court.

Here is the Decision of Judge Margot Botsford of the Middlesex Superior Court.

Here is the Letter to Bedford Town Officials.

Here is the Letter to the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions.

Here is the Boston Globe column by Ann Hall which appeared on Sunday, November 10, 1996.

Here is the Discussion Thread from the Well.

Here is the Discussion Thread from the Home-Owners Association Mailing List.

Here is a feature article in the Boston Globe reporting the controversial outcome of the case.

Here is the Letter to the Trustees from John Hines.

Here is a Letter to the Trustees from Sara Grassie.

Here is a Letter to the Trustees and to Judge Botsford from Nancy Williams.

Here is a Letter to Judge Botsford from Craig Louis.

Here is a Letter from Arthur Einstein.

Here is a Letter of Support from Paula Etzel.

Here is a Letter of Support from Ana Robles.

Here is a Letter to the Boston Globe from Suzanne Griffith.

Here are messages of support from the good folks on MuseNet.

Here is the Letter to the current Trustees.

You can send your letters of outrage to any of these recpients.

Barry Kort

bkort@musenet.info

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