No. The Appeals Court held that a former homeowner who went back into a house after a lawful post-foreclosure eviction was liable for trespass and unjust enrichment, and that she could not reargue the foreclosure because those issues had already been decided. This is an unpublished Appeals Court decision under Rule 23.0, which courts may cite as persuasive but not as binding precedent.
What happened
After a foreclosure, earlier Housing Court judgments found that the bank held legal title and the right to possession, and the former owner was lawfully evicted under an execution. She later reentered the property and stayed there. The bank then sued her in the Superior Court for trespass, conversion and unjust enrichment, and asked for a declaration that she had no right to be there. She answered with ninety-four affirmative defenses and ninety counterclaims. The judge granted the bank judgment on the pleadings and dismissed her counterclaims, and she appealed.
What the court decided
In Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Philippe, No. 25-P-132 (Mass. App. Ct. May 4, 2026) (Rule 23.0 decision), the Appeals Court affirmed.
No real factual dispute. The judge found that the former owner did not deny the facts in the complaint. She only disputed their legal effect. Courts do not treat legal conclusions dressed up as facts as true. Polay v. McMahon, 468 Mass. 379 (2014). With no facts in dispute, judgment on the pleadings was proper, including on the request for a declaration of rights. Merriam v. Demoulas Super Mkts., Inc., 464 Mass. 721 (2013).
Trespass. Trespass is an invasion of someone’s right to exclusive possession of land. Amaral v. Cuppels, 64 Mass. App. Ct. 85 (2005). The owner does not have to be physically living there. Dilbert v. Hanover Ins. Co., 63 Mass. App. Ct. 327 (2005). Because the Housing Court had already given the bank possession, going back in and staying was a trespass.
Unjust enrichment. Unjust enrichment means keeping someone else’s money or property against basic fairness. Santagate v. Tower, 64 Mass. App. Ct. 324 (2005). By occupying the property without title, the former owner kept the bank from using, renting or selling it.
The old arguments were barred. Her defenses said the loan was predatory, the foreclosure was illegal, the bank lacked title and standing, and the Housing Court judgments were invalid. The court held these were all litigated and decided before, so claim preclusion (res judicata) barred them. A valid final judgment is conclusive between the parties and bars relitigating what was or could have been decided. Brookline v. Alston, 487 Mass. 278 (2021).
The counterclaims were collateral attacks. All but one counterclaim tried to undo the earlier final judgments. Once final judgment enters, a party’s remedy is a timely appeal or other direct challenge, not a new case in another court. Tompkins v. Tompkins, 65 Mass. App. Ct. 487 (2006); Pavlik v. Dmytryck, 6 Mass. App. Ct. 915 (1978). The last counterclaim stated only legal conclusions and alleged no violation of the eviction statute.
What this means for you
This is a hard lesson for homeowners after foreclosure. You can challenge a foreclosure, but you get one full chance to do it. Once a court has decided the foreclosure and possession questions against you and the judgment is final, raising the same arguments again in a new case will almost always fail. Moving back into the home after a lawful eviction does not restore your rights. It exposes you to a new lawsuit for trespass and unjust enrichment, and to a court order that you have no right to be there.
The time to fight is in the first case: raise every defense, back it with evidence, and appeal on time if you lose. If you think a judgment was wrong, the path is a direct challenge to that judgment, such as an appeal or a motion in the same court, not a separate lawsuit somewhere else.
What to do now
- If you received foreclosure notices, get legal advice before the sale date. Problems with the foreclosure are easier to raise early.
- In a post-foreclosure eviction, raise all your defenses and counterclaims in that case, with evidence.
- If you lose, file any notice of appeal within the deadline. In summary process cases it is 10 days.
- Do not reenter a property after a lawful eviction. Talk to a lawyer about what options, if any, remain.
- If you are sued for trespass or use and occupancy, respond on time. Ignoring it can lead to a default.
If this is your situation, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 or tell us what happened. Housing Court deadlines are short.
