Attorneys Michael Brangwynne, Nisha Koshy and Rosemary Tootell recently obtained favorable decisions from the Massachusetts Appeals Court on three related appeals, in which the Appeals Court affirmed all judgments and orders in favor of our client, a real estate investor in Boston. All three appeals arose from an action filed in the Business Litigation Session of Suffolk Superior Court in 2020 and were heard together at a single oral argument session before the Appeals Court earlier this year.
The underlying action involved a dispute between our client and his long time business partner over a real estate deal gone bad. The transaction, which was memorialized in a co-ownership agreement and two purchase and sale agreements, involved the exchange of interests in two properties under IRC Section 1031. When the defendant refused to proceed with the transaction, our client sued for breach of contract and specific performance. After years of discovery and motion practice our client moved for summary judgment on his claims, which was granted by the trial court. In its final judgment, the defendant was ordered to close upon the transaction contemplated by the parties’ contracts. Nevertheless, the deadline for closing came and went, and the defendant refused to comply with the Court’s order.
Our client was compelled to bring an action for contempt. After a trial on that issue, the defendant was found in contempt of the Court’s order and was faced with daily sanctions for continued non-compliance. The contemplated exchange of real estate interests finally occurred in October of 2024.
Defendant appealed the final judgment and several other orders of the trial court, including the order granting summary judgment and the order finding defendant in contempt. After a lengthy briefing process, the combined appeals were heard by the Appeals Court on April 15, 2026. In its recent decision, the Appeals Court affirmed all orders of the lower court, confirming summary judgment for our client and the contempt order.
Great work by the team on a hard-fought, multi-year result.