NAHANT — In a long and complex legal battle between the town and Northeastern University regarding 12.5 acres of land known as East Point, a decision has been made on Northeastern’s claim for damages against Nahant.
Superior Court Judge Jeffery Karp, after an in-depth review of the case, made the decision last Friday to deny the majority of the university’s claim for damages, which would have totaled an approximately $25 million burden for the town.
The two entities have been engaged in a lengthy legal dispute regarding the University’s plans to expand its Marine Science Center (MSC) located on East Point in Nahant. In 2018, the university announced its plans to expand the MSC by building a new facility on the undeveloped land. Then, in 2019, the legal battle commenced when the town filed a lawsuit to try and halt the expansion.
Northeastern purchased the former East Point Military Reservation back in 1966 after the town declined to purchase the land from the Department of Defense, according to the university’s website.
Later, in April 2024, Essex County Superior Court ruled in favor of the university on the basis that a state law protecting land left untouched for conservation did not apply to the university’s ambition of expanding the MSC. The court sided with Northeastern’s defense, arguing that Nahant’s dominant reason for wanting to take the land was to prevent the MSC expansion or any other potential development, as opposed to preserving open space, recreation, and wildlife area.
“The court hereby declares and adjudges that the order of intention to take conservation easement by eminent domain issued by the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Nahant on Sept. 8, 2021… is null and void because the Town of Nahant is pursuing the taking described therein in bad faith for an improper reason,” the decision document read.
Despite the ruling, the town emphasized that the ultimate ambition of the original case was the protection and preservation of open space. Previously, the Board of Selectmen noted that the town has consistently sought the preservation of East Point for more than 60 years, as it was zoned a natural resource.
The university then filed a motion in May 2024 to have the town cover its costs from the dispute over East Point. The motion outlined four different expenses that the university wanted the town to pay for: deposition transcriptions, attorney’s fees, expert’s fees (which were expended to have the land valued), and damages regarding delays in the construction of the expanded MSC.
“Following a full and fair review of the facts and case law, we are grateful that Judge Karp denied the vast majority of Northeastern University’s claims for damages, regarding the eminent domain case to preserve East Point as conservation land,” the Board of Selectman said in a statement.
According to the board, Judge Karp denying damages relating to construction delays voided more than 95% of its total claim of $25 million. Karp said that the town is still liable to Northeastern for fees for its attorneys and experts.
“The final total is still to be determined,” the board said in the statement. “The legal process to preserve East Point remains ongoing.”
