Ten Years after Gallivan v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Wellesley: A Retrospective

Join Diane C. Tillotson, Esq. of Hemenway & Barnes LLP, and Daniel P. Dain, Esq. of Dain/Torpy for a discussion of the line of judicial decisions that started with Gallivan v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals ofWellesley, 71 Mass. App. Ct. 850(2008), which turns 10 years old this June. In Gallivan, the Appeals Court interpreted the relevant provisions of G. L. c. 40A, §§ 7 & 8 to bar an abutter's challenge to a building permit, where the abutter had notice of the application for the building permit and an appeal to the local zoning board of appeals was not filed within 30 days of the issuance of the permit. A subsequent enforcement action is not available to such an abutter. The Supreme Judicial Court confirmed this rule in Connors v. Annino, and there have been many trial and appellate-level decisions since Gallivan applying its holding to different fact patterns. The discussion, led by Diane and Dan, will address the Gallivan rule itself, the reasoning behind the rule, subsequent decisions and what remains undecided in the 10 years since the Appeals Court first handed down the Gallivan decision in 2008.