Not without paying for it. A jury found a commercial landlord liable for breach of the lease, interference with the tenant’s business relationships, and unfair business practices under G.L. c. 93A after its owner kept disrupting the tenant’s business, and the Appeals Court affirmed. The landlord lost its appeal mainly because it had not preserved its challenges at trial, and the court ruled the appeal frivolous. It is an unpublished Appeals Court decision under Rule 23.0, which courts may cite as persuasive but not as binding precedent.
What happened
The tenant ran a business serving children with disabilities and leased a medical office in Oxford from a realty trust. The lease gave the tenant the right to quiet enjoyment and allowed the landlord to enter only at reasonable times and on reasonable notice. The landlord’s owner knew he was not supposed to enter during business hours or interact with clients. Even so, he entered during business hours, approached a child client and tried to photograph her, was seen sleeping in a shed and urinating near a door clients used, looked through windows at clients, and entered at night and took down some of the tenant’s security cameras. Because of the owner’s conduct, the tenant had to wind down operations and turn its new second location into its primary office. It presented evidence of $692,084.47 in damages, including lost profits and rent. A Superior Court jury found for the tenant.
What the court decided
In Family Behavioral Health Inc. v. 387 Main Street Realty Trust, No. 24-P-443 (Mass. App. Ct. March 2, 2026) (Rule 23.0 decision), the Appeals Court affirmed the judgment in all respects.
First, the landlord had waived its main arguments. On appeal it argued the evidence was not enough to support the verdict. But it never moved for a directed verdict at trial. An appellate court cannot review the sufficiency of the evidence without an effective directed verdict motion. Martin v. Hall, 369 Mass. 882, 884 (1976).
Second, the landlord argued the damages were excessive. The court said this claim was waived twice. The landlord did not object to the tenant’s damages witness at trial, and it did not file a motion for a new trial. Challenges to excessive damages ordinarily must be raised first with the trial judge by a new trial motion. Pridgen v. Boston Hous. Auth., 364 Mass. 696, 715 (1974).
Third, the landlord could not blame its trial lawyer. In a civil case, a party’s remedy for its own lawyer’s negligence is a malpractice claim, not an attack on the judgment. Commonwealth v. Patton, 458 Mass. 119, 124 (2010).
The court also said the arguments would have failed anyway. The jury could find the owner’s conduct was inappropriate and shocking, and that he refused to stop even after being warned about safety and confidentiality. The jury could also find the landlord knowingly and willfully disregarded its contract obligations. That kind of conduct supports multiple damages under G.L. c. 93A, § 11. Anthony’s Pier Four, Inc. v. HBC Assocs., 411 Mass. 451, 474 to 475 (1991). Finally, the court found the appeal frivolous and allowed the tenant’s request for appellate attorney’s fees under Mass. R. A. P. 25.
What this means for you
If you rent commercial space, your lease is not just a rent agreement. A quiet enjoyment clause and limits on landlord entry are real promises. When a landlord or its owner ignores them, keeps showing up, and drives away your customers or staff, you may have claims for breach of the lease and for unfair business practices. Under c. 93A, § 11, a business can recover actual damages, up to three times those damages for a willful or knowing violation, and reasonable attorney’s fees.
The case also shows how much the trial matters. The landlord lost its appeal largely because it did not make the right objections and motions at trial. The same rules apply to tenants. If you are a party to a jury trial, objections to evidence, motions for a directed verdict, and motions for a new trial are how you protect your right to appeal. Arguments raised for the first time on appeal usually fail.
Proof matters too. Here the tenant had employee testimony, security camera footage, and evidence of lost profits and rent. Records like these turned a pattern of disruptions into a damages award.
What to do now
- Read your lease for the quiet enjoyment clause and any rules on when and how the landlord may enter.
- Tell the landlord in writing, each time, what happened and that it must stop. Keep copies.
- Keep a log of every incident with dates, times, witnesses, photos and video.
- Track the business cost: lost customers, lost staff time, rent paid for space you cannot use, and lost profits.
- Talk to a lawyer before you stop paying rent or move out, so you do not create a claim against yourself.
If this is your situation, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 or tell us what happened. These cases move on short deadlines.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
