Malone v. Commonwealth

The plaintiffs, husband and wife, are owners of property in a rural area in the city of Westfield improved by a residence and by two buildings in which they have been operating a gift shop. They commenced an action in the Superior Court for Hampden County, pursuant to G. L. c. 79, § 12, to recover for "permanent” diminution in the market value of their property caused, so they claimed, by the relocation of a part of a State highway on which the property abutted. 2 A jury, answering special questions, awarded them $6,200 in damages. The Commonwealth appealed, and we transferred the case here…