Sherwin Law Firm Wins Real Estate Appeal

real estate appeal

I’m pleased to write that I won a real estate appeal before the Massachusetts Appeals Court last week. This case concerned a real estate contract dispute, concerning rescission (a request to cancel a legal agreement). I had previously won the trial and the other side appealed.

What is an Appeal?

All civil disputes begin in a trial court, where a party can file a lawsuit against another party and seek monetary damages or a court order. Most real estate disputes in Massachusetts typically begin in the Superior Court or Land Court.

If a party is not happy with the outcome of a case, they can pursue an appeal. An appeal is a legal proceeding that asks a appellate court to review the decision of a trial court. Appeals generally go before the Appeals Court or District Court Appellate Division (depending on the case). In some cases, an appeal can go directly to the Supreme Judicial Court, the highest court in Massachusetts.

Lessons for a Real Estate Appeal

In this real estate appeal, I was defending the trial court decision (known as being the “appellee”). An advantage of being the winning party in an appeal is that an appellate court can uphold a trial court decision for any reason supported by the trial record. This means that, even if the lower court got the reasons for its decision incorrect, its decision will still be affirmed if there is another basis for the decision.

For this reason, a large portion of my argument addressed the many reasons why a claim of rescission was improper in this case. The purpose was to give the Appeals Court as many reasons as possible for going my way. I’m pleased that the Court agreed with my argument and affirmed the lower court decision.

Conclusion

If you need assistance with a real estate appeal, contact me for a consultation.