In 2019 the Town of Nahant filed a lawsuit against Northeastern University in superior court. The sea-side town sought to prevent the university from expanding its Marine Science Center which is located just north of Nahant’s Lodge Park.
The town’s lawsuit was based on two arguments:
- Nahant claimed that Northeastern already dedicated the proposed building site to “passive recreation” and designated the area as an “ecological preserve.” As such, the land at issue could not be developed without the state legislature’s approval. See Article 97 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution.
- Next Nahant argued that the town detrimentally relied on the university’s eco-friendly promises when building Lodge Park. Thus, according to the town, the theory of “promissory estoppel” should bar the university from reneging on its promises.
Arguing that the town’s claims were meritless, Northeastern’s lawyers filed a motion for summary judgment asking the superior court to dismiss the lawsuit. The court allowed the motion and the town appealed.
Today the Appeals Court upheld the lawsuit’s dismissal:
We conclude that the plaintiffs have no reasonable expectation of establishing that Northeastern dedicated the twelve acres at issue to the public for use as an ecological preserve. As a result, the land is still privately held by Northeastern and is not subject to art. 97. Additionally, we conclude that the town has no reasonable expectation of proving that Northeastern made an “unambiguous promise” to preserve any of its land as an ecological preserve, a wildlife refuge, or as open space. Accordingly, the allowance of summary judgment in favor of Northeastern on all claims was proper. (Citations omitted.)
The full text of the opinion is attached below.