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It's not Great Woods anymore, but Mansfield man still not allowed at concert venue without permission

The Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled today that "permanent" means "permanent," and that an injunction that permanently barred Karl Clemmey from Great Woods in 1993 remains in effect despite the facility's change of both ownership and names.

The then owners of Great Woods had to go to court to permanently bar Clemmey, who owned a neighboring piece of land, after he repeatedly threatened and in one case physically attacked Great Woods' manager, apparently in an unquenchable rage over the way the state took some of his land by eminent domain to widen Rte. 140 so that Great Woods could add more seats. His anger extended to driving heavy machinery across Great Woods property.

At one point, the appeals-court ruling recounts, Clemmey made a unique threat to the venue manager:

One of these nights when you have a full house [at a Great Woods performance] I'm going to take a couple of my dump trucks up to your house, and you know, Bruce, I know where you live. And I'm going to pull up to the house and flash the lights, blow the whistles, and bang the rear doors on the trucks. Your wife's going to be scared; she's going to try and get you on the phone and you're not going to be able to leave, and you're going to have to tell her that there's nothing you can do. And if you do leave, you're going to get fired.

In 2013, Clemmey sought to have the injunction lifted, in part because what is now Xfinity Center has new owners - Live Nation.

But the court noted that many of the people threatened by Clemmey - including the manager - still work there, and that the injunction was designed more to protect these people than the corporate entity that owns the place:

It would make little sense for a person in this context to be deprived of the protection of a permanent injunction simply because the corporate ownership of his employer changed.

Plus, it's not like Clemmey always obeyed the injunction - the court said that in 2004, he built a fence on the venue's property.

And, the court continued, Clemmey had taken advantage several times of a clause in the injunction that lets him attend specific events at Great Woods/Tweeter Center/Xfinity Center by asking for permission, which the court noted he had always gotten.

So, the court concluded, the injunction remains in place.

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Comments

Wow, wonder how much Karl Clemmey paid in legal fees over the years because of his stupidity. I love how the kicker in his 'lifetime ban' is that "Clemmey had taken advantage several times of a clause in the injunction that let him attend specific events at Great Woods/Tweeter Center/Xfinity Center by asking for permission, which the court noted he had always gotten."

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Like "I'm never setting foot in that stupid piece of shit again... Ooh! Look! Skynyrd!!"

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This guy owns a lot of good commercial land in Mansfield and he is related by marriage through one of his kids to Route 1 South's favorite sperm lottery winner and Trump fundraiser.

Irascible yes. Stupid in his actions, yes. Stupid in business, no.

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for a small portion of his property and then winds up having that property taken away for nothing is really smart in business - not!

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Thug prone to violence, yes.

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Who was there first, the venue, or this schmuck? And yeah, he's a schmuck either way for threatening to go after the guy's wife.

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Eminent domain disputes are always interesting to read about. Only mention of it I find is this old Globe article which is paywalled:
https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8259645.html

anybody know the details?

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Thank goodness for library access to the Globe archives.

From what I can tell, in 1988, the state needed land from 4 different abutters (including Mr. Clemmey) for the roadway expansion project. The concert venue offered monetary compensation to all the abutters, including Mr. Clemmey, but he refused their offer ($60K plus concert tickets for 2.5 undeveloped acres) and held out until 1993.

"In 1988, Great Woods received state approval to expand its capacity, contingent on Route 140 work to mitigate the massive traffic jams that have snarled the 3,300 feet of roadway between the center and Interstate 495 before and after concerts. Great Woods was ordered to negotiate acquisitions with four abutters whose land was deemed necessary for the project."

" During 1991 and 1992, Drew [John Drew, Great Woods' developer] and [Brian F] Dacey sent Clemmey a series of letters, threatening on at least four occasions to turn the matter over to the state if he did not accept their offer. Late last year, Drew's company informed the state that an impasse had been reached, and informed Clemmey that the state Highway Department would pursue the acquisition.

After consulting with an appraiser, the state then took the land without compensating Clemmey, arguing that his 20-acre parcel would be worth more after the road improvements. Clemmey already has submitted plans for a two-story office building on the site, and the state has agreed to provide him a curb cut off Route 140, which the Highway Department's Corcoran said offsets the loss of 2.5 acres."

So they didn't just seize the land outright - Great Woods offered compensation to all four landowners, and Clemmey refused it. And the state agreed to Great Woods' expansion plan on the condition that they pay for (at least part of) the roadway expansion project.

Beyond that,

"Clemmey has always been a contentious sort, scrapping frequently and publicly with other Mansfield officials. Earlier this month, while giving a reporter a tour of his land, Clemmey challenged a worker hauling gravel off the disputed 2.5 acres to a fight."

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They aren't saying that he can't use his own property, just that he can't go on theirs.

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The state took some of his land via eminent domain for a road which was needed as the venue was expanding. Although it was the state/town which approved this and used eminent domain he seems to hold a grudge against the venue.

Convincing the goverment to use their eminent domain powers for the sake a private developer is one of Trump's favorite moves, BTW.

It's unclear if the eminent domain move was justified but this guy is a total masshole for threatening the manager of the club as a result.

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someone I know got caught trying to steal a Skid Row t-shirt from that place in 89. I heard he just gave them a fake name and he goes back whenever he pleases. youth gone wild.

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They're not checking IDs as you walk in (just tickets), so it wouldn't seem like a ban would be all that effective unless they have your photo posted.

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Or if you've been seen riding heavy machinery through it and threatening its managers, of course.

What a maroon, this guy.

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My parents live in Mansfield, and my dad HATES Karl Clemmey. They've never met - he just thinks Clemmey is a huge asshole. Sounds like Dad is right!

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Mr. Clemmey did not try to run over Mansfield's town planner in 2013. Mr. Clemmey's wife, daughter, and family friend pointed out that he couldn't have, since according to them, he was in Wareham that day.

So there! Mr. Clemmey clearly does not have a protracted, 20-year history of using vehicles to threaten people.

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He threatened the family of the manager in 1988 - so it is closer to a 30 year history of threatening people with motor vehicles and heavy equipment.

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a family tradition, spanning a generation?

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Not exactly what I'd call objective or neutral witnesses.

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F KMackie and Talkmansfield!

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I should be one one the band wagon of anti clemmeys...but I'd be lying ...I was lucky to have been able to have been close to some and gotten to know them as people ...I'm sorry but they are not rightfully judged...yes they have a reputation but mainly out of jealously of the town...they are all hardworking , well educated , good to the core people ...and ...who doesn't have a temper sometimes to protect what's right ....they are food people and I'm sorry for myself for not being in their lives and others for not seeing what I had the privilege to

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What a loser. Check out what he did to those poor kids in Rhode Island who he had a run in with. He is pure s um! Not a man of his word, he forever ruined any future they had created and any forgoing future being as he’s a selfish SOB.

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