JEFFREY CAMPBELL v. MANSOUR ABDULLA & Others. (2025)

Citation: JEFFREY CAMPBELL v. MANSOUR ABDULLA & Others. (2025)
Parent Document: JEFFREY CAMPBELL v. MANSOUR ABDULLA & Others. (2025)
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts (state)
Effective Date: 2025-08-21
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10658045/jeffrey-campbell-v-mansour-abd... ↗

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HERSHFANG, J.  This is a summary process case in which a tenant, Tanya Coffey, appeals from a judgment of possession in favor of her landlord.  After Coffey reported concerns about her apartment to the Haverhill board of health, a notice of violations issued to her landlord.  The next month, the landlord served Coffey and her family (collectively, the tenants) with a notice to quit for cause.  The tenants' answer raised affirmative defenses, including retaliation under G. L. c. 239, § 2A, and counterclaimed for damages under G. L. c. 186, § 18.  After a bench trial, a judge of the Housing Court found the landlord had established at least one of the cause allegations contained in the notice to quit and awarded him possession and costs.  Although the judge acknowledged the tenants' "facially viable" retaliation defense, he interpreted G. L. c. 239, § 8A, as precluding the defense because this was an eviction for cause rather than for nonpayment of rent.[2]  We vacate the judgment and remand for further proceedings.[3]

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