Defendant's Attorney:

Description: Boston, Massachusetts consumer lawyer lawyer represented the Defendant accused of breaching a residential lease by failing to pay rent.

This case stemmed from a no-fault residential summary process action brought in the Housing Court. After trial, the judge found that the tenants, Elijah Beauregard and Jennifer Cochran, owed the landlord, Antonio Pennetti, unpaid rent. The tenants, however, had counterclaimed alleging retaliation, G. L. c. 186, § 18; breach of the warranty of habitability; and violations of G. L. c. 93A. The judge found in favor of the tenants on those counterclaims and ultimately offset the tenants' unpaid rent against the amount of damages owed to them. Judgment entered in favor of the tenants for possession and the balance of the monetary damages after the offset. See G. L. c. 239, § 8A

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Legal issue Did the tenants successfully prove retaliatory eviction and breaches of the warranty of habitability against the landlord, warranting possession and monetary damages?
Headnote

LANDLORD-TENANT LAW. RETALIATORY EVICTION. The case examines whether a landlord's notice to quit, served within three months of a tenant's small claims action for alleged cross-metering of utilities, constitutes a retaliatory eviction under Massachusetts General Laws c. 186, § 18.

LANDLORD-TENANT LAW. WARRANTY OF HABITABILITY. The court addresses whether various defects in the common areas and delayed repair of an entry door amounted to a breach of the implied warranty of habitability, supporting the tenants' defense in a summary process action.

LANDLORD-TENANT LAW. STATUTE-BASED DEFENSES TO EVICTION. The decision explores tenants' ability to assert counterclaims and defenses under G. L. c. 239, § 8A, due to common area defects and delayed door repair, following proper procedural compliance and landlord’s knowledge of defects.

LANDLORD-TENANT LAW. QUIET ENJOYMENT. The judgment evaluates claims related to the landlord's interference with the tenants' quiet enjoyment through serious defects in common areas, despite the absence of additional damage awards under this claim due to prior duplicative remedies.

CONSUMER PROTECTION LAW. UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE PRACTICES. The ruling determines that a landlord's prolonged failure to remedy sanitary code violations amounted to unfair and deceptive practices under G. L. c. 93A, justifying double damages for the tenants.

ATTORNEY'S FEES. APPELLATE ATTORNEY'S FEES. The court grants the tenants appellate attorney's fees in defending the landlord's appeal related to the G. L. c. 93A claim, contingent upon a detailed submission according to court guidelines.
Key Phrases No-fault residential summary process. Breach of warranty of habitability. Retaliatory eviction. Implied covenant of quiet enjoyment. General Laws chapter 93A violations.

Outcome: Affirmed

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Defendant's Experts:

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