Neighborhood Legal Services is a free provider of civil legal assistance for low income residents of Essex County, Massachusetts. Part of a larger national network of legal services providers, NLS helps our area's low income residents with legal problems involving access to housing, access to public assistance, employment rights, discrimination, elder law, domestic violence and family law, and economic development of our area's low income communities. NLS' staff of 12 attorneys, 2 paralegals and support staff provide help to more than 3500 households every year. Click on the links to the left or the articles below to learn more about us. Please consider making a donation by clicking the donate link above and help support our important work and the continued development of this site. Thanks for visiting!
Recent Documents: |  | Lynn Rooming House Lawsuit Reaches Final Settlement | 3/26/2008 |  | A long-lasting class action involving over 200 tenants of six Lynn rooming houses came to close in July as the result of a settlement agreement that resolved the tenants' final claims. The class, consisting of the tenants from the six buildings, was represented by NLS attorney Marc Potvin. The final settlement agreement involved the tenants' claims of bad housing conditions and the landlord's unfair practices such as the closing of kitchens, lock-outs, removing on-site superintendents, and making move-out agreements to avoid paying relocation money.
Under the final agreement, the Lynn Community Development Housing Corporation agreed to make settlement payments to class members based upon a formula that considered length of residency, building conditions, and the amount of rent paid. NLS sent notices to class members and over a hundred agencies and properties in the greater Lynn area after the Northeast Housing Court approved the settlement agreement. The final settlement resulted in the payment of an additional $50,000 to class members with an average payment of $1,429 for those who submitted claims.
The lawsuit stems from a decision by the City of Lynn to use its federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to assist the Lynn Community Development Housing Corporation to acquire six rooming houses in 1996 that were owned by Leo Allard. The buildings represented one- third of Lynn's rooming house units. The assistance was provided under the City's CDBG plan that called for the removal of most of the rooming houses. After taking over the buildings, the Housing Corporation did not give tenants relocation notices as required by federal law. The bad conditions in the buildings did not improve right away and some worsened. Some building had their kitchens closed while in others some tenants were locked-out or the resident superintendents were removed. A majority of tenants soon received eviction notices. The property manager began making $100 move-out agreements with tenants as part of the effort to empty the buildings. That is when NLS brought suit on behalf the residents.
In the early stage of the litigation, NLS obtained a court order that stopped all non-payment evictions and the making of $100 cash payments to induce tenant to immediately move. In addition, the owner began repairs to the worse conditions and started cleaning the common bathrooms on a regular basis. Substantial repairs were begun on three buildings. In the next stage of the lawsuit, NLS won a judgment that the Housing Corporation violated federal relocation laws, including HUD's anti-displacement statute. The court ordered that full relocation payments be made to all displaced tenants. This represented one of the first enforcements of HUD's anti-displacement law in the country and over $200,000 was paid to former residents.
A proud outcome of NLS' advocacy in the rooming house case is the recognition the agency received from HUD. In its revised Relocation Handbook, HUD included a new section covering the ramifications of a failure to provide timely relocation notices so that such a problem will not occur again. In addition, HUD cited NLS as an example of an agency that tenants should seek for help in filing relocation appeals. NLS congratulates Staff Attorney Marc Potvin for his success in this case and the changes he has helped bring to displaced persons across the country.
| | | | NLS Consumer Bankruptcy Training | 9/10/2007 | | Neighborhood Legal Services is offering a free seminar on Consumer Bankruptcy Practice to be held on September 19th, from 4pm-7pm at the Sheraton Ferncroft, Danvers. The distinguished panel will be chaired by the honorable Chief Justice Joan N. Feeney, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Boston. To register, please contact Henriette B. Perkins, Neighborhood legal Services, Inc., 781-244-1425, e-mail hperkins@nlsma.org | |  | NLS' 2006 Advocacy Report | 7/9/2007 | | Our 2006 Advocacy Report details some of the work done by NLS Staff | | | | NLS attorney Marc Potvin wins major victory for tenants displaced from rooming houses in Lynn | 7/22/2005 | | Many tenants are now eligible for substantial cash awards because they were forced to move from their Lynn rooming houses. | | | | Are You a Northeastern Mass Attorney? A New Housing Court Eviction Assistance Project Needs Your Help! | 7/22/2005 | | New court approved legal help program assists both low income tenants and landlords in the Northeast Housing Court | |
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