Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XIII Chapter 79
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 79, § 6 (2026)

Taking by public; award of damages; amendment of award; payment

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 6. When a taking is made on behalf of a body politic or corporate other than a corporation described in section seven, the board of officers by whom the order of taking is adopted shall, at the time of the adoption thereof, award the damages sustained by every person in his property by reason of such taking. Such award may be amended by said board of officers at any time prior to the payment thereof by reason of a change in ownership or value of said property before the right to damages therefor has become vested or for other good cause shown. Such damages shall be paid by such body politic or corporate unless other provision is made by law.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 17 cases, 1928–2005 · leading case: McSorley v. Town of Hancock, 417 N.E.2d 982 (Mass. App. Ct. 1981).
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McSorley v. Town of Hancock, 417 N.E.2d 982 (Mass. App. Ct. 1981). “Dissatisfied by the award of the Commonwealth (see G. L. c. 79, § 6), the plaintiff brought an action which resulted in a settlement, and after a pro forma hearing before a Superior Court judge, in a judgment.”
Roberts v. Worcester Redevelopment Auth., 759 N.E.2d 1220 (Mass. App. Ct. 2001). “See G. L. c. 79, §§ 6, 7, 7A, 7C, 7D, 7H, 9, 10, 11, 17, 18, 21, 32, 33, 36, 38, 41, 43, and 44A.”
Truck Terminal Realty Co. v. Boston Redevelopment Auth., 339 N.E.2d 891 (Mass. 1976). “The defendant could have apportioned the damages under G. L. c. 79, § 6. See Kahler v. Marshfield, 347 Mass.”
R. H. White Realty Co. v. Boston Redevelopment Auth., 358 N.E.2d 440 (Mass. 1976). “We will call you when payment is ready.” We think these letters are clear assertions that the awards were not yet “payable.”
Coach & Six Restaurant, Inc. v. Pub. Works Comm'n, 296 N.E.2d 501 (Mass. 1973). “In concluding that the petitioner has not shown that it is entitled to-relief in the form of a writ of mandamus, we do not imply that officers of land taking authorities have a privilege of neglecting or ignoring their duties under G. L. c. 79, §§ 6, 8A, concerning award and…”
Broderick v. Dep't of Mental Diseases, 160 N.E. 404 (Mass. 1928). “The order was not invalid because damages were not awarded in compliance with G. L. c. 79, § 6. “It has often been held by this court that when a board, charged with the duty of assessing damages for land taken or injured, fails to make an assessment, such failure is equivalent…”
Boyce v. Greater Lowell Reg'l Vocational Technical Sch. Dist., 389 N.E.2d 451 (Mass. App. Ct. 1979). “79 2 which made a taking of the plaintiffs’ property for public purposes connected with the school district and awarded the plaintiffs damages under G. L. c. 79, § 6, in the amount of $35,000.”
Bates Sand & Gravel Co. v. Commonwealth, 393 N.E.2d 956 (Mass. App. Ct. 1979). · cites it 2× “The issue before us is whether the agreements between Bates and Sawyer conveyed rights to Bates which give rise to a claim under G. L. c. 79, § 6. That statute provides that when there is a taking by eminent domain "the damages sustained by every person in his property by reason…”
Opinion of the Justices to the Senate, 238 N.E.2d 855 (Mass. 1968). “2946 and the order do not greatly enlighten us as to the circumstances giving rise to the moral obligation. We do not know the date or other circumstances of the takings, but we do not doubt that these are moral obligations.”
Rite Media, Inc. v. Sec'y of the Massachusetts High. Dep't, 712 N.E.2d 60 (Mass. 1999). “G. L. c. 79, §§ 6, 12. There is no basis in the typical taking to award damages, additionally and separately, for structures on the property.”
Soeder v. Cnty. Commissioners, 805 N.E.2d 1026 (Mass. App. Ct. 2004). “4 Had this claim been supported, the plaintiff might have a predicate for compensation under G. L. c. 79, §§ 6, 12, as a taking of part of her property by the public authority (consider *785 ing the No.”
Proprietors of the Looks & Canals on Merrimack River v. Commonwealth, 171 N.E.2d 146 (Mass. 1961). “In the renewal of the lease there was an agreement that the Proprietors “shall be entitled to all damages awarded on account” of the taking except damages awarded on account of the “lessee’s improvements.”
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