The Appeals Court affirmed an eviction judgment against a man living in a mobile home owned by his stepmother, and it called his appeal frivolous, which opened the door to an award of her appellate attorney’s fees against him. The lesson: an appeal that contradicts the position you took at trial is unlikely to succeed and can cost you money. This is an unpublished Appeals Court decision under Rule 23.0, which courts may cite as persuasive but not as binding precedent.
What happened
The occupant lived in a mobile home owned by his stepmother. In August 2023 she served him with a written notice to quit. When he did not leave, she filed a summary process (eviction) case in the Housing Court. At trial, he stipulated that the notice to quit was valid and did not dispute that he received the process a tenant would get. His position was that there was no tenancy agreement and that he was gradually buying the mobile home, and he offered a document he described as a real estate purchase agreement.
What the court decided
The Housing Court judge found that the purported purchase agreement and the related testimony did not show that the occupant had a better right to possession than the owner. The judge ruled that he was a licensee, meaning someone living there with permission rather than under a tenancy, and that the owner had proven a superior right to possession, reasonable notice, and his failure to leave. The judge gave the owner possession but no money for unpaid rent.
The Appeals Court affirmed in Pomerleau v. Johnson, No. 24-P-1171 (Mass. App. Ct. October 6, 2025) (Rule 23.0 decision).
The purchase agreement. After a trial without a jury, the Appeals Court accepts the judge’s findings of fact unless they are clearly erroneous. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n v. Schumacher, 467 Mass. 421 (2014). The judge did not make an explicit credibility finding, but his rulings showed he believed the owner’s account of the document. Because that choice was supported by the record and turned on credibility, the panel would not disturb it.
Tenant or licensee. On appeal, the occupant argued he was a tenant, pointing to the agreement as a rent to own arrangement and to testimony in which both sides used the word “tenant.” The panel noted that at trial he had argued the opposite: that there was no tenancy. The judge agreed with him on that point, and that is presumably why no rent damages were awarded. The panel said it could not see how being called a tenant would help him, found the briefing unhelpful, and declined to build an argument for him. It affirmed the judgment.
Appellate fees. The owner asked for her appellate attorney’s fees and costs on the ground that the appeal was frivolous. The panel agreed the appeal was frivolous and allowed her 14 days to file a fee application, with 14 days for the occupant to respond, following the procedure in Fabre v. Walton, 441 Mass. 9 (2004).
What this means for you
Families often share homes without a written lease. A parent, stepparent or sibling owns the place, and a relative lives there under a loose understanding. When the relationship breaks down, the owner may still have to go through Housing Court to remove the relative, and here the owner did exactly that: notice to quit, then a summary process case.
Whether you are a tenant or a licensee can matter a great deal in other cases. Tenants have specific statutory protections and defenses. But the label only helps if you use it consistently and if it gets you something. In this case, the occupant told the trial judge he was not a tenant, won that point, and then argued the reverse on appeal. The court treated the switch as a reason to reject the appeal.
The fee ruling is the real trap. Massachusetts appellate courts can make the losing side pay the other side’s appellate lawyer when an appeal is frivolous. An appeal carries that risk even when you feel strongly about your case. If you claim an ownership interest, such as a rent to own deal, you need proof the trial judge will believe, and you need to present it at trial.
What to do now
- If you live in a relative’s home, write down the terms you agreed to, including any payments toward buying the property, and keep receipts for every payment.
- If you receive a notice to quit, do not ignore it. Read the date and get advice before it runs out.
- Decide early, with advice, whether you are claiming to be a tenant, an owner or something else, and keep that position consistent from trial through any appeal.
- Before you appeal, ask a lawyer whether the issue was raised at trial and whether a win would actually change the outcome.
- If the other side asks for appellate fees, respond within the time the court sets.
If this is your situation, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 or tell us what happened. Housing Court deadlines are short.
