CHARLES C. STOVER, III and KATHARINE S. STOVER, as Trustees of the St. Mary's Street 72 Realty Trust v. MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION

In this action, plaintiffs Katharine S. Stover and Charles C. Stover, III, as Trustees of the St. Mary's Street 72 Realty Trust, seek to quiet and remove a cloud on title pursuant to G.L. c.240, §§ 6-10. The Trustees are the record owners of a residential property at 72 St. Mary's Street in Newton, the rear portion of which is now (or was formally) subject to a railroad right of way obtained in 1847 by the long-defunct Boston & Worcester Railroad Corporation ("B&W") for the Newton Lower Falls Branch railway line. The Commonwealth, through its Department of Conservation and Recreation, claims to be the successor in interest to B&W's easement rights in the Newton Lower Falls Branch line.

This matter came before this Court on DCR's motion for summary judgment. In accordance with this Court's Decision of even date, in light of the undisputed facts and arguments of counsel, this Court has determined that it lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over the Trustees' claims because the issue of whether the federal government has approved the abandonment of the Newton Lower Falls Branch, and its associated easement bordering the Trustees' property, "remains in the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal government…." Murray v. Massachusetts Dept. of Conservation and Recreation, 475 Mass. 99 , 104 (2016). As such, DCR's motion is ALLOWED. The Trustees' claims are hereby DISMISSED, without prejudice.

SO ORDERED.