Having no title under his lease from the trust, even if the other elements necessary to establish his case were shown, the plaintiff cannot recover against the defendant. See, in this connection, Emery v. Boston Terminal Co. 178 Mass. 172; Mathews v. Carlton, 189 Mass. 285; Scotti v. Bullock, 225 Mass. 510. Assuming that the letters and the promissory notes payable to Hoffecker signed Briggs Trust, by Fred L. Hewitt, Trustee, and the evidence of other transactions were properly admitted, they are insufficient to show an assignment in writing from Hewitt to the trust, or to himself as trustee.
No written instrument ever formalized the assignment from Tage I to Tage II. It is settled that in such circumstances Tage II cannot claim more than a tenancy at will. G.L.c. 183, ยง 3. Scotti v. Bullock, 225 Mass. 510, 512 (1917). Podren v. Macquarrie, 233 Mass. 127, 130 (1919).
Their status is no more than tenants at will of the original tenants. Scotti v. Bullock, 225 Mass. 510, 512 (1917). The board found that on September 1, 1989, when the last original tenant vacated the apartment and the new occupant moved in, the original lease was still in effect because, by its terms, the lease would terminate on June 30, 1990 as a result of the written notice from the last original tenant.