Section 14. A person entitled to an award of his damages under this chapter or the body politic or corporate bound to pay the same, whether a petition has or has not been filed or award made under section six, seven, nine or ten, may petition for the assessment of such damages to the superior court of the county in which the property taken or injured was situated. If a single parcel of land so taken or injured lies in more than one county, the petition may be filed in the superior court of either such county, and the court in which such petition is first filed shall have exclusive jurisdiction thereof and shall assess damages as though the land lay entirely in one county; provided, that if a petition for damages has previously been filed under section eleven, the petition to the superior court shall be filed in the same county. If the land injured lies outside the commonwealth, such petition shall be filed in the superior court of the county in which the public improvement which caused the injury is situated.

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Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws ch. 79 sec. 14

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.