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Quimby v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Arlington
Citations: 19 Mass. App. Ct. 1005; 476 N.E.2d 241; 1985 Mass. App. LEXIS 1636
Court: Massachusetts Appeals Court; March 29, 1985; Massachusetts; State Appellate Court
An appeal under G. L. c. 40A. 17 was filed on October 4, 1983, asserting that a residential neighbor (plaintiff) was improperly denied standing to contest a variance granted to the individual defendant by the board of appeals regarding parking. The individual defendant moved to dismiss the case, claiming the plaintiff lacked standing. The plaintiff subsequently sought to amend the complaint to include her parents as co-plaintiffs, who owned the property she resided in, which was approximately fifty feet from the defendant's restaurant. On December 20, 1983, the motion to dismiss was granted, citing that the plaintiff was not an aggrieved party, and the motion to amend was denied without sufficient justification. The ruling on dismissal was contested, as there is no absolute rule that a tenant cannot have standing, and various factors determine standing, such as control or possession of the property. The judge's reasoning for denying the amendment was deemed inadequate, as amendments should generally be allowed unless compelling reasons exist. The court concluded that the motion to dismiss should not have been granted and that the denial of the motion to amend was unjustified. The judgment was reversed, and the case was remanded to the Superior Court for reinstatement of the original complaint and reconsideration of the amendment. The plaintiff's long-term residence was noted, but the court refrained from determining the impact of her affidavit on the dismissal, focusing instead on the potential for relief based on the complaint's allegations.