Massachusetts Superior Court Partially Allows Class Action on Boston’s Tax Abatement Retaliation

The Massachusetts Superior Court partially allowed the City of Boston’s motion to dismiss in a class action alleging retaliatory reassessment practices. Commercial property owners claimed the City implemented an “Add-Back Policy” that artificially increased property assessments for taxpayers with pending abatement appeals, allegedly in retaliation for exercising statutory appeal rights. The court held that the allegations, if proven, could support extraordinary equitable relief because the claimed policy constituted retaliation for protected rights under Massachusetts law. However, the court dismissed the federal civil rights claim, concluding that adequate state remedies were available and therefore federal constitutional relief was not warranted. The ...