Litigation

We have acted as legal counsel for Owners or Contractors in construction disputes, creditors and debtors in collection matters and various civil litigation matters, including Chapter 93A Consumer Protection, loan workouts, personal injury, worker’s compensation, bankruptcy, and family law.

As a Massachusetts tenant eviction lawyer, we take immediate action as soon as we get your file. The process for eviction is started within two days of opening your file. Upon being hired, we contact the tenant to arrange a viewing the rental unit and meet with the tenant(s). In addition to learning details of the tenants and occupants and premises that may be useful if a judicial hearing later occurs, we try to get the tenants to agree in writing to admit to the Landlord having the right to possession and agree to a departure date. The agreements are then filed with the court in an eviction action with the agreement for a Judgment for Possession. Although a lawsuit still needs to be filed, it is with a definite date sooner than if the eviction process ran its normal course. Normally, depending when the process is started, it may take two to three months to get possession when the tenant does not voluntarily leave.

If within the first two days of our office taking your case the Tenant does not agree to a date in which a Judgment for Possession would be enforced, then they are immediately served by the Sheriff and the judicial the process to remove them starts. We then prosecute the eviction step by step until a Judgment for Possession and Money Damages is issued.

We also realize that with a tenant who knows and asserts the rights the Massachusetts legislature gave them, more attorney time will be needed and it may take longer before the Tenant can be removed. Even with leases that provide that the Tenant is to pay the Landlord’s legal fees, it will still be an expense for which there is no guarantee the Tenant would be able to reimburse. Our objective is to make sure possession is returned to the Landlord and that our client’s financial exposure is limited.

Unfortunately for Landlords, it is extremely difficult to comply with the requirements of the Massachusetts security deposit laws. It is rare to find a landlord who complies with the security deposit and advance rental deposit laws. Tenants can counterclaim for money damages for the return of the security deposit and most often will have a good claim for triple the amount and attorney’s fees for mishandling of the security deposit. Other counterclaims Tenants could have are that the Landlord did not make the premises “habitable” as defined by building and health codes; that the Landlord interfered with “quiet enjoyment” and claims for damages incurred as a result of lead paint or toxic mold.

The Law Offices of Keith M. Yankow is available for a free consultation and advice prior to preparing proper Notice to Quit. Our counsel and advice is a combination of the technical knowledge, the practical approach to settling and compromising claims, and using the eviction proceedings to our clients’ advantage.

Tenant’s have many rights against a landlord. Often, the landlord has violated the landlord tenant statute, even without realizing it. As a result, you may be entitled to the landlord reimbursing you for our legal fees; you may be entitled to the full return of your security deposit and possibly three times the amount depending upon the facts of your case. Give us a call to discuss what we can do for you. We can help you if you need more time before you move out or to “explain” to the Landlord the value of your claims that offset the amounts the Landlord may claim you owe.

We cannot deny that representing a Landlord who owns or manages real estate is potential for further legal work as opposed to the likely one-time representation of a tenant. However, the Law Offices of Keith M. Yankow has earned new landlord clients by having first represented their former tenants. We ZEALOUSLY represent our clients, so after we are done enforcing the law on the landlord, we have frequently won the landlord as our client in their future legal needs.