Smith v. MacAlister

On October 10, 1966, the plaintiff Smith agreed in writing with the defendant MacAlister to purchase a parcel of land owned by MacAlister on Plum Island in the town of Newbury. Before the agreed date for performance, November 21, 1966, a surveyor determined that the porch of a house belonging to Stoddard, an abutting land owner, extended eight feet by twenty-five feet into MacAlister’s parcel. Stoddard asserted to Smith that she had title to the land on which her porch extended. Smith has thereafter taken the position that he is entitled to specific performance with either an abatement from…