Bill no longer on the fence

From the State House
Newton Tab

Rep. Ruth B. Balser, D-Newton, has announced that legislation she filed, H3572, "An Act Clarifying the Enforcement of Fence Viewers' Ruling," was signed by the governor and is now Chapter 366 of the Acts of 2006.  This act addresses a weakness in the system of enforcing rulings in neighborhood boundary disputes.  It ensures that the fence viewer's rulings will be enforced by making explicit that challenges may be heard in the district court in the city where the property is located.

The bill was the response to a problem faced by a constituent, George Foord, who spend many years embroiled in a neighborhood dispute and a costly court battle.  His neighbor had used a "living fence" to divide their properties.  The fence of trees grew out of control and severely damaged Foord's front lawn.

When Foord contacted the city, the municipal fence viewer, whose job it is to address boundary disputes, supported Foord's claim, but the neighbor refused to cut the trees.  Eventually, after a long and costly battle in Superior Court, Foord was successful.

Foord contacted his representative to find a legislative solution to help others avoid this difficulty.  Balser suggested that reinforcing the fence viewer's ruling was the key, and by moving that type of situation from Superior Court to District Court, the enforcement would be a simpler matter.