Town of Weymouth v. Welch

At issue in this case is the applicability of the statute of repose1 to actions brought under the Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Materials Prevention and Response Act (“Chapter 2IE”).2 The statute of repose imposes a strict six-year time limitation for bringing a suit in tort that involves improvements to land. Unlike the statute of limitations, the statute of repose does not take into account the date a plaintiff discovered the injury and it may bar a suit long before an injury occurs or is discovered. On an issue of first impression, this court rules that the statute of repose does not…