What is the pro tanto payment?
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 79 requires the taking authority to determine its opinion of the property’s fair market value, and then offer that amount to the owner. The owner can either accept the amount offered by the taking authority as full compensation for the taking or can accept it as a payment pro tanto, which means the payment is accepted as a partial payment subject to the owner’s assertion that it is insufficient and does not represent the fair market value of the property taken. The phrase “pro tanto” is Latin for “so far” or “to that extent,” and indicates that the property owner has accepted the taking authority’s payment as only part of the just compensation that is due. By accepting a pro tanto payment, the owner can file a lawsuit against the taking authority within three (3) years of the date that the taking order is recorded in the registry of deeds, and this lawsuit will be decided by a judge or jury.
