No. If the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination dismisses your housing complaint for lack of probable cause, you can still file your own lawsuit in court on time. The Appeals Court reversed a Housing Court judge who threw out a tenant’s discrimination and retaliation case on that ground. This is an unpublished Appeals Court decision under Rule 23.0, which courts may cite as persuasive but not as binding precedent.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 tenant lived in a rental complex from 2017 until around April 2023. During 2022 she made several requests for reasonable accommodations, and the landlord denied them after deciding they were not based on a disability related need. In December 2022 the landlord served a thirty day notice to quit for alleged lease violations, which the tenant says was retaliation for her requests. She filed a complaint with the MCAD, which dismissed it for lack of probable cause. She asked for review, and the investigating commissioner affirmed the dismissal. She then sued in the Housing Court, but named the complex instead of the company that owned it. A default entered against the wrongly named defendant. A judge set aside the default and let her amend to name the landlord, and a second judge then dismissed the case, ruling the MCAD dismissal barred it.
What the court decided
The Appeals Court reversed the dismissal in Morecroft v. CPF Taylor Pond, LLC, No. 24-P-1210 (Mass. App. Ct. November 20, 2025) (Rule 23.0 decision), and sent the case back for further proceedings.
The court reached the issue anyway. The tenant’s brief made only a brief, general argument. Normally an appeals court can skip issues not properly argued. The court addressed this one because the error was clear and could happen again.
No final judgment on the merits. Claim preclusion requires three things: the same parties, the same claim, and a prior final judgment on the merits. Kobrin v. Board of Registration in Med., 444 Mass. 837 (2005). The first two appeared to be met. The third was missing. The landlord offered no authority that an MCAD finding of lack of probable cause is a final judgment on the merits.
You do not have to choose one path forever. The landlord argued a tenant may go to the MCAD or to court, but not both, relying on King v. First, 46 Mass. App. Ct. 372 (1999). The Appeals Court explained that King only noted the 1991 change to G.L. c. 151B, § 9, which lets a person claiming housing discrimination go straight to court without first filing with the MCAD. It did not create an exclusive choice. Even when the investigating commissioner affirms a no probable cause finding, the complainant may still bring a civil action under § 9 if it is filed within the limitations period. Grandoit v. Massachusetts Comm’n Against Discrimination, 95 Mass. App. Ct. 603 (2019). The court added that the rule barring court review of an MCAD dismissal did not matter here, because the tenant brought a separate lawsuit, not an appeal of the MCAD decision.
The default. The court affirmed the order setting aside the default. A default may be set aside for good cause under Mass. R. Civ. P. 55 (c), and that decision is reviewed for abuse of discretion. Ceruolo v. Garcia, 92 Mass. App. Ct. 185 (2017). The defaulted party was the wrongly named complex, not the landlord, which was named and served only after the amendment. Removing that default did not harm the tenant’s substantial rights.
What this means for you
A lack of probable cause letter from the MCAD is not the end of your housing discrimination claim. You may still sue in the Superior Court, the Housing Court or the Probate Court. The catch is the deadline. Under G.L. c. 151B, § 9, a civil action after an MCAD complaint must be filed no later than three years after the discrimination, and a case filed without any MCAD complaint has a shorter deadline. Do not wait for the MCAD process to finish before checking your dates.
The case also shows the cost of naming the wrong defendant. A complex or building name is often not the legal owner. Suing the wrong entity can mean a default that is worth nothing.
What to do now
- Keep every MCAD letter, including any lack of probable cause finding and review decision.
- Write down the date of each denial and each act you believe was retaliation. Deadlines run from those dates.
- Look up the landlord’s exact legal name in the registry of deeds or the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s records before you sue.
- Talk to a lawyer about filing in court well before the limitations period ends.
If this is your situation, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 or tell us what happened. Deadlines for discrimination and employment claims can be short.
