The Massachusetts Housing Court (also known as the Housing Court Department of the Trial Court) is a trial court in Massachusetts that hears eviction cases, small claims cases, and civil actions involving personal injury, property damage, breach of contract, discrimination, and other claims. The Housing Court also hears code enforcement actions and appeals of local zoning board decisions that affect residential housing. The Housing court is led by Chief Justice Diana H. Horan and Deputy Court Administrator Benjamin O. Adeyinka. The Housing Court has 15 judges and covers all fourteen counties of the Commonwealth. The Housing Court has 6 divisions: Central, Eastern, Metro South, Northeast, Southeast, and Western.
In civil matters, Housing Court judges conduct both jury and jury-waived trials, and determine with finality any matter within the court's subject matter jurisdiction. Cases from the housing court may be appealed to the Massachusetts Appeals Court.
The Eastern Housing Court is located in the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse, 24 New Chardon Street, Boston, Massachusetts. [1] The court was established by the state legislature in 1971 as the Boston Housing Court and started its operation in August 1972. [2] It handles summary proceedings for possession of land, also known as summary process. The court is one division of the Massachusetts Housing Court. [3] The Eastern Division has sessions in Boston, Chelsea, and Somerville. [4]
The Central Housing Court is located at 225 Main Street, Worcester, MA. It has sessions in Worcester, Dudley, Leominster and Marlborough.
The Western Housing Court is located at 37 Elm Street, Springfield, MA. It has sessions in Springfield, Pittsfield, Greenfield and Hadley.
The Northeast Housing Court is located at 2 Appleton Street, 2d Floor, Lawrence, MA. It has sessions in Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Salem and Woburn.
The Southeast Housing Court is located at 289 Rock St, Fall River, MA. It has sessions in Fall River, New Bedford, Plymouth and Taunton.
The Metro South Housing Court is located at 215 Main Street, Suite 160, Brockton, MA. It has sessions in Brockton and Canton.
As of 2023, the Housing Court judges are:
Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 105,643 at the 2020 United States census. Along with Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of Plymouth County. It is the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts and is sometimes referred to as the "City of Champions", due to the success of native boxers Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, as well as its successful Brockton High School sports programs. Two villages within it are Montello and Campello, both of which have MBTA Commuter Rail Stations and post offices. Campello is the smallest neighborhood, but also the most populous. Brockton hosts a baseball team, the Brockton Rox. It is the second-windiest city in the United States, with an average wind speed of 14.3 mph (23.0 km/h).
East Bridgewater is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 14,440 at the 2020 census. It is also a part of Massachusetts' 8th congressional district, of which it is represented by Stephen Lynch.
Pembroke is an historic town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Pembroke is a South Shore suburb of the Boston metropolitan area. The town is located approximately halfway between Boston and Cape Cod. The town is considered rural in character, with pockets of suburban neighborhoods. The population was 18,361 at the 2020 census, with a median household income of $119,827.
Whitman is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,121 at the 2020 census. It is notable as being the place where the chocolate chip cookie was invented.
Scituate is a seacoast town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on the South Shore, midway between Boston and Plymouth. The population was 19,063 at the 2020 census.
Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas. The most stringent definition of the region consists of most of the eastern third of mainland Massachusetts, excluding the Merrimack Valley and most of Southeastern Massachusetts, though most definitions include much of these areas and portions of southern New Hampshire.
The Old State House a/k/a the Old Provincial State House, is a historic building in Boston, Massachusetts, built in 1713. It was the seat of the Massachusetts General Court until 1798. It is located at the intersection of Washington and State Streets and is one of the oldest public buildings in the United States.
Cardinal Spellman High School is a private college preparatory high school of Catholic denomination established in 1958 and located in Brockton, Massachusetts, United States. Like the school's fellow Catholic school and sports rival, Archbishop Williams High School, Spellman separated from the Boston Archdiocese in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal. The school is named after Cardinal Francis Spellman.
Southeastern Massachusetts is a region of Massachusetts located south of Boston and east of Rhode Island. It is commonly used to describe areas with cultural ties to both Boston and Providence, Rhode Island, and includes the cities of New Bedford and Fall River and their respective suburbs. Despite the location of Cape Cod and the islands to its south, which are the southeasternmost parts of the state, they are not often grouped in this designation. At its broadest definition, it includes all of Massachusetts south of Boston, southeast of Worcester, and east of Providence, Rhode Island, while at its narrowest definition, it is Bristol County and the Western portion of Plymouth County.
Route 37 is a 9.54-mile-long (15.35 km) north–south state highway in eastern Massachusetts. Its southern terminus is at Route 28 in Brockton and its northern terminus is at Interstate 93 (I-93) and U.S. Route 1 in Braintree.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court is the intermediate appellate court of Massachusetts. It was created in 1972 as a court of general appellate jurisdiction. The court is located at the John Adams Courthouse at Pemberton Square in Boston, the same building which houses the Supreme Judicial Court and the Social Law Library.
The Boston Bar Association (BBA) is a volunteer non-governmental organization in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. With headquarters located at 16 Beacon Street in the historic Chester Harding House, across from the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Hill, the BBA has 13,000 members drawn from private practice, corporations, government agencies, legal aid organizations, the courts and law schools.
Brockton station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Brockton, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA Middleborough/Lakeville Line and is a stop on the seasonal CapeFLYER service. The station has a single accessible full-length high-level platform that serves the line's two tracks. It is located adjacent to the BAT Centre, the primary hub for Brockton Area Transit Authority local bus service.
City Life/Vida Urbana commonly known as "City Life," is a social justice group in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1973, a group of local residents and activists with roots in the civil rights, feminist and anti-Vietnam War movements founded the Jamaica Plain Tenants Action Group, now City Life/Vida Urbana. Since 2008, City Life has focused on preventing evictions of both former owners and renters resulting from a rise in foreclosures. City Life/Vida Urbana is currently based in Jamaica Plain, with satellite memberships in East Boston, Brockton, Lynn, Quincy, and Worcester.
Massachusetts has an estimated population of 6.981 million as of 2022 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This represents a −0.7% decrease in population from the 2020 census, when the population was 7.029 million. Currently, Massachusetts is the sixteenth most populous U.S. state.
The Boston Municipal Court (BMC), officially the Boston Municipal Court Department of the Trial Court, is a department of the Trial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The court hears criminal, civil, mental health, restraining orders, and other types of cases. The court also has an appellate division which reviews questions of law that arise from civil matters filed in the eight divisions of the department.
The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau (HLAB) is the oldest student-run legal services office in the United States, founded in 1913. The bureau is one of three honors societies at the law school, along with the Harvard Law Review and the Board of Student Advisers.
Barbara A. Lenk is an American attorney and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. On April 4, 2011, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick nominated her to that position and she was confirmed by the Governor's Council on May 4, 2011. She took the oath of office on June 8, 2011.
The judiciary of Massachusetts is the branch of the government of Massachusetts that interprets and applies the law of Massachusetts, ensures equal justice under law, and provides a mechanism for dispute resolution. The judicial power in Massachusetts is reposed in the Supreme Judicial Court, which superintends the entire system of courts.
The Old Bridgewater Historical Society was founded in 1894 in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The society operates from two buildings and has a library of genealogical and historical texts, manuscripts, documents, and photographs, as well as historical artifacts.