Mobile Home Residents Threaten Class Action Lawsuit →

Demand Letter Threatens Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Vulnerable Mobile Home Residents in Auburn, MA Following Extreme Rent Increases and Numerous Regulatory Violations at Two Mobile Home Parks in Auburn, LCR Issues 30-Day Demand Letter to Park Owners Under Massachusetts’ Consumer Protection Act Lawyers for Civil Rights (“LCR”) issued...

Statement on Attorney General’s Lawsuit Against Milton →

Lawyers for Civil Rights Commends Attorney General Campbell’s Swift Action to Hold Milton Accountable for Violating the MBTA Zoning Law Attorney General Andrea Campbell has sued the Town of Milton for its failure to comply with the MBTA Zoning Law. Lawyers for Civil Rights (“LCR”) applauds this enforcement action, which comes at...

20 Landlords and Brokers Sued for Housing Discrimination in Boston  →

As Affordable Housing Crisis Devastates Low-Income Communities, Lawsuit Challenges Housing Providers That Refuse to Rent to Subsidized Housing Recipients In a mammoth new lawsuit filed today, Housing Rights Initiative (“HRI”), a non-profit housing watchdog group, simultaneously sued twenty Boston-area landlords and real estate brokers, challenging pervasive discrimination against low-income tenants. The groundbreaking...

No Path to Justice for Victims of Discrimination in the MCAD  →

No Path to Justice for Victims of Discrimination in the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination  Escalating long-simmering concerns over deficiencies at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (“MCAD”), the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts (“ULEM”) and Lawyers for Civil Rights (“LCR”) have issued a demand letter calling on the agency to take immediate action to adequately...

Condemning Result of Milton Zoning Referendum  →

Statement Condemning Result of Milton Zoning Referendum  Milton Has Decided to Defy the MBTA Zoning Law, Now the Attorney General Must Hold the Town Accountable Milton residents voted down critical zoning changes that would have allowed for more multi-family housing development within the Town’s borders. As a result, Milton now joins Holden...

Mobile Home Residents Demand Justice →

Exploited Mobile Home Residents Demand Justice in Central Massachusetts Cease-and-Desist Letter Issued to Landlord Following Exorbitant Rent Increases, Dangerous and Unsanitary Conditions  Lawyers for Civil Rights (“LCR”) issued a cease-and-desist letter to the landlord of two mobile home parks in Auburn, MA, demanding a halt to illegal and exorbitant rent...

Boston Can’t Fix the Housing Crisis Alone →

Boston Can’t Fix the Housing Crisis Alone—the Commonwealth Must Enforce its MBTA Zoning Law Lawyers for Civil Rights Applauds Mayor Wu’s Housing Efforts, But More is Needed Across the Commonwealth to Combat the Affordable Housing Crisis Boston Mayor Michelle Wu delivered her second state of the city address. In it,...

Know-Your-Rights Guides in English and Spanish →

$250 Million Appropriation for Emergency Shelter →

Lawyers for Civil Rights Statement On Legislature’s $250 Million Appropriation For Emergency Shelter Lawyers for Civil Rights applauds the Legislature’s announcement today that it will appropriate $250 million to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis facing the Commonwealth’s emergency shelter system. We are proud that the lawsuit we filed late last...

Right-to-Shelter Lawsuit Filed in Massachusetts →

UPDATE: Judge Declines to Issue Preliminary Order Halting Changes to Right to Shelter LawA Superior Court judge declined to issue an order temporarily blocking the State’s proposed changes to the Right-to-Shelter Law. The ruling, which follows an emergency hearing in Lawyers for Civil Rights’ class action lawsuit, finds that the...

MBTA Zoning Lawsuit Addressing Housing Crisis →

Lawyers for Civil Rights and Brown Rudnick File MBTA Communities Zoning Lawsuit to Challenge Suburban Reluctance to Address Housing Crisis As Affordable Housing Crisis Devastates Low-Income Families and Community Groups, Plaintiffs Ask Supreme Judicial Court To Make Clear That New MBTA Communities Zoning Law Is Mandatory The Central Massachusetts Housing...

Advisory Clarifies MBTA Zoning Law: It’s Mandatory →

Lawyers for Civil Rights Commends Attorney General Campbell’s Legal Advisory Clarifying that the MBTA Zoning Law is Mandatory  Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell issued an advisory clarifying the legal requirements imposed on towns by the MBTA Communities Law, M.G.L. c. 40A § 3A.  The advisory unequivocally states that “[a]ll MBTA Communities must comply...

Some White Towns Resistant to Change, MBTA Zoning Law Action Plans Show →

MBTA Zoning Law “Action Plans” Raise Concern that Some Predominantly White Towns Remain Resistant to Change  Lawyers for Civil Rights (“LCR”) has demanded that seven municipalities rectify their failure to submit mandatory “action plans” for Massachusetts’ new MBTA Zoning Law.  Towns are starting to comply.  On a parallel track, LCR is conducting a statewide...

Lawyers for Civil Rights Demands Compliance with MBTA Zoning Law →

Lawyers for Civil Rights Demands Compliance with MBTA Zoning Law in Seven Massachusetts Towns  Lawyers for Civil Rights (“LCR”) issued demand letters to seven Massachusetts towns that are currently violating the MBTA Zoning Law: Berkley, Carver, Holden, Marshfield, Middleborough, Raynham, and Seekonk.  Non-compliance with the MBTA Zoning Law harms Commonwealth residents—particularly communities of...

LCR’s Civil Rights Summit →

LCR’s Civil Rights Summit November 4, 2022 Lawyers for Civil Rights held a Civil Rights Summit on November 4, 2022, convening powerful attorneys and community partners for strategic and catalytic thought partnership to advance civil rights in the current legal landscape, including changes in the composition of the Supreme Court....

Launching the Lauren Sampson Fellowship →

Lawyers for Civil Rights Launches Lauren Sampson Fellowship Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) is committed to honoring the memory and legacy of our colleague Lauren Sampson. We are proud to announce the creation of a legal fellowship dedicated to deepening and expanding Lauren’s impactful work from housing to climate justice and...

Boston’s Initiative to Promote Diversity Within Development Industry →

Statement on the City of Boston’s Initiative to Promote Diversity Within Boston’s Private Development Industry Lawyers for Civil Rights Applauds the City’s New Policy to Request Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Information in the Filing Process for Large Private Development Projects On August 11, 2022, Mayor Michelle Wu and the Boston...

Boston’s Land Audit →

Lawyers for Civil Rights Applauds and Encourages the City’s Effort to Identify Public Land that Can Be Used to Promote Housing Justice  On June 15, 2022, Mayor Michelle Wu released a highly anticipated report on the audit of city-owned land in Boston. The report, which links to an interactive map of municipal real estate...