Settlements & Awards

 Recent Victories and Settlements

  • Attorney Doug Mishkin is a member of the Egremont Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, which succeeded in winning overwhelming approval of three housing-related initiatives at a special town meeting: (1) approval of a proposal to build four units of workforce housing on town-owned land; (2) adoption of the Community Preservation Act (which now proceeds to a vote at the town election in May 2025); and (c) adoption of the Affordable Housing Property Tax Exemption, exempting from property taxes any property that is long-term leased to an income-qualified tenant at an affordable rent (October 2024).

  • After a landlord sprayed toxic polyurethane foam to address the lack of heat in a rental unit, we represented the harmed tenant and settled for $120,000 (October 2021).

  • In a case where a large-scale landlord failed to remediate serious gas and water leaks, sewage backups, and unusable bathroom facilities, we reached two separate settlements for $42,000 and $45,000 (2021).

  • Reached a $27,000 settlement in a case of bad conditions in a rental unit (2021).

  • Obtained a settlement of over $85,000 from a financial institution, for tenants who had been living in condemned housing in Greenfield (2021).

  • Reached a settlement of $47,500 for the tenants in a case where a Chicopee landlord has faced allegations of abusive behavior, racial comments, locking out tenants without judicial process and illegally barring visitors (2021).

  • In a case where serious conditions led to the condemnation of the property, we settled for $11,400 and six weeks of paid alternative housing for the tenant (2020).

  • After a bank foreclosed on a house and failed to repair serious substandard conditions, we represented the tenant and reached a $120,000 settlement. (2019).

  • Settled a bad conditions case for a tenant in a two-family house after foreclosure.  The city brought a case, and the tenants intervened and settled for the transfer of the two-family house to them for free, and payment of cash and waiver of rent in the amount of $37,500 (2019).

  • In a case where the landlord delayed necessary repairs and repeatedly threatened to cut off the tenant’s utilities, we obtained a settlement of over $90,000 (June 2019).

  • Reached a $590,000.00 settlement with a mobile home park on behalf of 115 residents where it was alleged that the park illegally raised lot rents by trying to pass on certain costs on to the residents (June 2018).

  • In the City of Springfield v. Reed Hosten, the Court awarded damages of $69,026.80 to a tenant family displaced by a condemnation due to lack of heat, roaches, and other substandard conditions (2017).

  • Reached a $200,000 settlement on behalf of nearly 200 mobile home park residents whose landlord made them pay for utilities without proper metering, imposed illegal late rent charges, and violated a number of other landlord-tenant laws and mobile home park regulations (May 2015).

  • Won a judgment of more than $90,000 against a landlord for failing to repair water leaks, exterminate cockroaches and bedbugs, and address other problems in his tenant’s apartment, and who unlawfully retaliated against the tenant by evicting her, and throwing away her family’s belongings, within days of her call to the local Board of Health (January, 2015).

  • The Housing Court awarded our client, a tenant of Fannie Mae, over $38,000, plus attorneys fees and costs, because of Fannie Mae’s failure as a landlord to make prompt repairs to our client’s home and allowing deplorable conditions to exist (May 2014).

  • Obtained a judgment of more than $80,000 against a landlord for deplorable conditions in a Leverett home, including persistent water leaks and destruction of property (April 2014).

  • The Court awarded three tenants over $120,000, in a case against their landlord, Fannie Mae, who refused to repair their apartments and allowed infestations of cockroaches and other vermin to persist for years (July 2013).

  • Settled a case for $80,000 against a landlord who had failed to eradicate a bedbug and cockroach infestation (February 2013).

  • Reached a class action settlement worth $240,000 for a group of 80 salespeople whose employer failed to pay minimum wage and overtime, in violation of federal and state law (February 2012).
     

Notable Court Rulings from Our Cases

  • Hayastan Industries, Inc. v. Henault, 20 P 951 & 20 P 1339 (2022). The Appeals Court affirmed a Housing Court ruling that the Springfield Mobile Home Rent Control Board had illegally allowed the owner of a mobile home park a 10% “automatic” management fee.  The Court also found that the Board had created an illegal formula for determining rents.  The rent amount awarded was invalidated and the tenants seek the return of this overpayment.

  • Peeples v. Clinical Support Options, Inc., Case No. 3:20-cv-30144-KAR (2020).  The Court granted a temporary restraining order requiring the employer to reasonably accommodate the employee’s asthma during the COVID-19 pandemic by permitting the employee to continue to telework.  The employer’s denial of that request because all managers were required to return to the office was likely to fail at trial, because the employer failed to consider the employee’s request on an individualized basis or to show that doing so would be an undue hardship for the employer.

  • Rental Property Management Services v. Hatcher, 479 Mass. 542 (2018). Ahmed-Kagzi v. Williams, 479 Mass. 1027 (2018). In an eviction case brought by a property manager rather than the owner, the Supreme Judicial Court found that a judge must dismiss the eviction action if the property manager is not the owner or lessor. The Court also found that if a corporation brings a case without counsel, litigated by a person related to the corporation, the eviction is the unauthorized practice of law and the judge must take corrective action. 

  • Fannie Mae v. Nuñez, 460 Mass. 511 (2011). In an eviction case brought by a bank against its tenant, our firm successfully argued to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that a new eviction statute protecting tenants after foreclosures should apply retroactively and protect tenants already facing evictions from banks that foreclosed on their landlords.

  • Bobby T. Brown vs. F.L. Roberts & Co., Inc., 452 Mass. 674 (2008). In an employment case, we successfully argued that a business’s policy on employee grooming discriminated against our client on the basis of his religious beliefs, in violation of the Massachusetts anti-discrimination law.

Awards

Originally founded by former legal services attorneys in 1996, our firm has a distinguished history working on behalf of tenants, employees, and consumers throughout western Massachusetts. In recognition of our work, the firm has been the proud recipients of many honors and awards.

  • Access to Justice Pro Bono Publico Award, Massachusetts Bar Association (2021)

  • Excellence in Pro Bono Award, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (2017)

  • Pro Bono Award, Women’s Bar Foundation (2014)

  • Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access, Meritorious Recognition Recipient, American Bar Association (2009)

  • Access to Justice Award, Massachusetts Bar Association (2008)

  • John and John Quincy Adams Pro Bono Publico Award, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (2006)