Cape Cod family continues to fight for 5.7 acres of land on Martha's Vineyard

MARTHA'S VINEYARD — A Cape family will head back to court Thursday for a jury trial, as they fight for a 5.7-acre parcel in Gay Head (Aquinnah), which was donated by the Kennedy family to Vineyard Conservation Society in 2013.

The court case Vineyard Conservation Society, Inc. vs. Jaime Lobo Baptiste & others involves members of the Devine family and Vineyard Conservation in relation to Aquinnah land, also known as Lot 240. Both claim the land belongs to them.

A litany of court appearances between the two parties has been ongoing for six years, but recently, in an Aug. 2 decision, Judge Karen Goodwin denied Vineyard Conservation's motion for summary judgment, which propelled the case into a jury trial, scheduled to begin on Thursday in Duke's County Superior Court.

Tanisha Gomes, of Bourne, one of 19 defendants in the case, said Goodwin denied Vineyard Conservation's motion because the nonprofit couldn't produce evidence that a chain of title included Lot 240.

"I’m so glad Judge Goodwin saw through the many inconsistencies in the court filings from the plaintiffs," Gomes said earlier this week.

Vineyard Conservation's attorney, John Willis, of Fidelity National Financial, declined comment when contacted by the Times.

Brendan O'Neill, executive director of Vineyard Conservation declined to comment other than to say he is awaiting the court's determination in the case.

Deeds for Lot 240 in Aquinnah at center of dispute

Originally, said Gomes, a complaint was filed by Vineyard Conservation in May 2017, to decipher who lot 240 was deeded to in 1870.

Gomes said the land was deeded to her and the other defendants' ancestor Louisa Pocknett and was never legally sold. The land in question, she said, is currently listed on the town of Aquinnah's Board of Assessor's website under her family's name.

Vineyard Conservation bases its claim of ownership to Lot 240 on 1944 and 1945 deeds, which they say, assert that Horace Devine, Louisa Pocknett's grandson, gave Henry Cronig the entirety of his family's land, including Lot 240.

Cronig, who died in 1972, was a real estate mogul in the mid-1900s.

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Since 1945, the land in question passed through several layers of ownership, eventually landing in the hands of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in 1978.

Gomes said Lot 240, or "240," which it's also commonly called, is a parcel that was included in a 2013 gift deed between Caroline Kennedy, Jacqueline's daughter, and Vineyard Conservation.

According to gift deed documents provided by Gomes, the Kennedy family, through its Red Gate Farm LLC, donated 30 acres of its Aquinnah property to Vineyard Conservation. The land, which was valued at $3.7 million, was gifted for $10.

While the 1944 and 1945 deeds specify lots that were sold to Cronig by Horace Devine, with a certain dollar value attached, said Gomes, Lot 240 is not named or described in either deed.

"There is language in the deed where Horace states 'all my land in Gay Head,' which Vineyard Conservation says includes Lot 240," she said. "But because Lot 240 isn't named on that deed, it's hard to say that Horace gave it away. I don't believe he gave all his land away in Gay Head (Aquinnah)."

Following the hearing in April, Goodwin agreed and stated Vineyard Conservation didn't produce evidence that the chain of title included Lot 240, according to her August decision.

"We think there are too many issues with the deed such as the broad swipe of wording that Vineyard Conservation says includes every piece of land," Gomes said. "That contradicts the elements of the deed."

Another issue with the 1945 deed, said Troy Small, Gomes' cousin and another defendant in the suit brought by Vineyard Conservation, is that Horace Devine's wife Gertrude H. Devine was not present at the deed signing.

"Because her signature was never witnessed by the notary, we feel it invalidates all intent to convey or give away the land," said Small.

Descendants of Louisa Pocknett say the Lot 240 is theirs

In 2017, Gomes received a letter from Fidelity National Law Group, to inform her and 19 members of her family about title problems with the land.

The letter informed Gomes and her relatives that a lawsuit was filed with Dukes County Superior Court against the family, who are considered heirs of Louisa Pocknett. Pocknett is described in the complaint as the former owner of the property. She died on Aug. 29, 1874, and was a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

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The family members were asked to sign an agreement to verify they had no right, title or interest in Lot 240, which was indicated on a plan entitled "Plan of Gay Head."

After further research, Gomes and her family found that Lot 240 remains in Pocknett's name on the town of Aquinnah's assessor's website, and objected to the lawsuit due to discrepancies surrounding incomplete deeds for Lot 240.

Throughout the years, it's been Gomes' hope that a judge would eventually remand Lot 240 into her family's custody.

"I’m hopeful that this lot will be given back to my family and we can finally be done with this case," she said. "It’s been (a) long journey."

Contact Rachael Devaney at rdevaney@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: A fight over 5.7 acres in Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard heads to court