Bates Sand & Gravel Co. v. Commonwealth

In 1973 Hazel L. Sawyer petitioned for an assessment of damages (G. L. c. 79, § 14) for land taken by *332the Commonwealth in 1971 for a flood control project. Shortly after she filed her petition Bates Sand & Gravel Co., Inc. (Bates), moved to be made a party to the proceedings on the basis that it possessed mineral rights in the land and, therefore, had a compensable interest. The Commonwealth and Sawyer assented to the motion, and it was allowed. Thereafter, Sawyer challenged Bates’ claim to an interest in her land, and both Bates and Sawyer agreed that the trial judge could determine Bates’s…