General Laws of Massachusetts - Chapter 49 Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers
- Massachusetts General Laws - Fence viewers; appointment; tenure - Chapter 49, Section 1
The mayor of each city, subject to confirmation by the city council, and the selectmen of each town shall annually appoint two or more fence...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Definition of fences - Chapter 49, Section 2
Fences four feet high, in good repair, constructed of rails, timber, boards, iron or stone, and brooks, rivers, ponds, creeks, ditches and hedges, or other...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Maintenance of partition fences - Chapter 49, Section 3
The occupants of adjoining lands enclosed with fences shall, so long as both of them improve the same, maintain partition fences in equal shares between...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Failure to maintain partition fence; proceedings by adjoining occupant - Chapter 49, Section 4
If a person refuses or neglects to repair or rebuild the part of a partition fence which under this chapter he is required to maintain,...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Remedy for repair of deficient fence - Chapter 49, Section 5
If a deficient fence which has been built up or repaired by a complainant is, after due notice to each party, adjudged sufficient by the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Disputes regarding repairs; arbitration - Chapter 49, Section 6
When a dispute arises concerning the part of a partition fence which under this chapter each party is required to build or maintain, either party...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Remedy for repair of deficient fence assigned by fence viewers - Chapter 49, Section 7
If a person refuses or neglects to erect and maintain the part of a fence assigned to him by the fence viewers, it may be...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Remedy for repairing more than just share of partition fence - Chapter 49, Section 8
If a partition fence is required under this chapter between the lands of adjoining occupants, and either of them has, before complaint made, voluntarily erected...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Construction and maintenance of fences between lands divided by a river - Chapter 49, Section 9
If lands of different persons, required under this chapter to be fenced, are divided by a river, brook, pond or creek, and one of the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Fences on lands owned in severalty and occupied in common; construction - Chapter 49, Section 10
If land belonging to two persons in severalty has been occupied in common without a partition fence, and one of the occupants desires to occupy...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Maintenance of fences surrounding land laying common - Chapter 49, Section 11
If a division of fence between the owners of improved land has been made either by fence viewers or under an agreement in writing between...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Purchase of rights in fence - Chapter 49, Section 12
If one person ceases to improve his land or lays open his enclosure, he shall not take away any part of the partition fence belonging...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Enclosing of formerly unenclosed land; liability of owner; exception - Chapter 49, Section 13
If unenclosed land is afterward enclosed or used for depasturing, the occupant or owner shall pay for one half of each partition fence standing upon...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Boundary disputes - Chapter 49, Section 14
If the division line between lands of respective occupants is in dispute or unknown, the fence viewers may designate a line on which the fence...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Rebuilding of fence on true boundary; duties of adjoining owners - Chapter 49, Section 15
If it is determined that the true division line is in another place, each occupant shall remove his part of the fence to, and rebuild...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Fence viewers; jurisdiction where fence is on town boundary - Chapter 49, Section 16
If the line upon which a partition fence is to be made or divided is a boundary line of a town or is partly in...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Water fences - Chapter 49, Section 17
A water fence, or fence running into the water, shall, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, be built by them in equal shares; and they...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Fence viewers; powers - Chapter 49, Section 18
Fence viewers, when called upon to act under any section of this chapter, may determine whether a partition fence is required.
- Massachusetts General Laws - Penalty for misfeasance - Chapter 49, Section 19
A fence viewer who, when requested, unreasonably neglects to perform any duty required of him in this chapter shall forfeit five dollars to be recovered...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Fees - Chapter 49, Section 20
Each fence viewer shall be paid at the rate of five dollars a day for the time during which he is employed, but his fee...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Fences deemed a private nuisance; right of action - Chapter 49, Section 21
A fence or other structure in the nature of a fence which unnecessarily exceeds six feet in height and is maliciously erected or maintained for...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Pounds; establishment; appointment of keeper - Chapter 49, Section 22
Each town may provide and maintain one or more pounds. The mayor or selectmen may appoint a pound keeper for each pound and one or...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Pounds; penalty for injuring - Chapter 49, Section 23
Whoever wilfully injures a pound shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than three
- Massachusetts General Laws - Duties of field driver; taking up untended animals - Chapter 49, Section 24
Every field driver shall take up horses, mules, asses, neat cattle, sheep, goats or swine going at large in the public ways, or on common...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Duties of keeper; impounding of untended animals - Chapter 49, Section 25
Beasts so taken up by a field driver or such inhabitant shall be forthwith impounded, and while so impounded shall be furnished with suitable food...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Fees of field driver and pound keeper - Chapter 49, Section 26
A city by vote of its city council, approved in accordance with the provisions of its charter, and a town by order adopted by the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Payment of fees - Chapter 49, Section 27
The pound keeper shall not deliver to the owner any beast so impounded until the owner pays him his fees, the expense of keeping the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Use of premises of field driver for keeping impounded animals; conditions - Chapter 49, Section 28
Beasts taken up by a field driver in a town which adopts this section or has adopted corresponding provisions of earlier laws may be impounded...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Remedies for damage done by untended animals - Chapter 49, Section 29
If a person is injured in his land by horses, mules, asses, neat cattle, sheep, goats or swine, he may recover his damages in an...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Care of distrained animals - Chapter 49, Section 30
Beasts so distrained shall be impounded in the pound or in some suitable place under the immediate care and inspection of the distrainor, and he...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Duties of distrainor - Chapter 49, Section 31
If the beasts are impounded in the pound, the distrainor shall leave with the pound keeper a memorandum in writing, under his hand, stating the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Release of distrained animals; conditions - Chapter 49, Section 32
The pound keeper shall not deliver the beasts to the owner until his fees, the amount so demanded by the distrainor for the damages and...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Notice of impounding - Chapter 49, Section 33
Whoever impounds beasts shall, within twenty-four hours thereafter, give notice in writing, containing a description of the beasts and a statement of the time, place...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Publication of notice of impounding - Chapter 49, Section 34
If there is no person entitled to such notice, the person impounding the beasts shall, within forty-eight hours thereafter, post a like notice in a...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Determination of amount of damages in dispute - Chapter 49, Section 35
If the owner or keeper of the beasts is dissatisfied with the claim of the person impounding them, he may have the amount for which...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Procedure for settlement of claim - Chapter 49, Section 36
If the amount for which the beasts have been impounded and detained is not paid within fourteen days after notice of the impounding has been...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Sale of animals to satisfy claim - Chapter 49, Section 37
If the amount so determined is not paid forthwith, the person who impounded the beasts shall cause them to be sold by auction in the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Disposition of proceeds - Chapter 49, Section 38
The proceeds of the sale, after paying all damages, costs, expenses and charges for advertising and selling the beasts, shall be deposited in the town...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Escaped or rescued animals; right to retake - Chapter 49, Section 39
If beasts lawfully distrained or impounded escape or are rescued, the pound keeper, field driver or other person who distrained them may, within seven days...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Penalty for rescuing distrained animals - Chapter 49, Section 40
Whoever rescues beasts lawfully distrained or impounded shall be liable in tort to any person injured for all damages sustained thereby and the fees and...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Rights of owner in distress proceedings - Chapter 49, Section 41
The defendant in an action for rescuing beasts distrained or impounded shall not be allowed to allege or give in evidence the insufficiency of the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 1963, 185 - Chapter 49, Section 42
Repealed, 1963,
Last modified: September 11, 2015