A Somerville man’s fight to stay in his apartment will come to a head Monday when his case is put before a jury.
Gary Rogers, a 62-year-old Union Square resident, faces eviction from his third-floor unit at 22 Sargent Avenue after refusing to move out of his home, court documents show. His landlord, Ryan Pinto, a California-based investor, has sought to evict him for over a year-and-a-half.
The dispute began in February 2024, when Pinto and his wife purchased the 22 Sargent Avenue property for $1.2 million. Days after purchasing the building, Pinto, according to court documents, increased rent from $1,1,50 to $2,200, an increase of more than 90%. Rogers, who has lived in the building for almost nine years, told Cambridge Day via email that he has refused to pay the increased rent since it went into effect.
Pinto sent Rogers a notice to quit in April of that year – when that expired two months later, Pinto filed a no-fault eviction case against Rogers. Devin Caglayan, property manager of the building, is also named as a plaintiff in the case.
Pinto argues that it was necessary to set rent to the market rate due to an increase in the property’s mortgage, insurance, tax, water and sewer bills, court filings show. Pinto said that when the purchase offer was accepted in November 2023, Rogers began withholding $100 in rent each month.
Rogers argues that his landlord’s attempt to evict him is retaliation for refusing to pay the increased rent. He said the notice to quit Pinto served him is defective and that Pinto still accepted rent payments after not properly terminating his self-extending lease, court filings show. Rogers also outlined a litany of concerns in his unit, including broken plumbing and heating systems and the presence of asbestos, that he said Pinto knew about and failed to address.
Apart from admitting the notice to quit and Rogers’ lease speak for themselves, Pinto has denied Rogers’ counterclaims.
“I believe I have very strong defenses, counterclaims, and trust in my two attorneys’ ability to express the proper tenant laws and code violations that were neglected and abused by the Plaintiffs and their agents,” Rogers wrote in an email shared with Cambridge Day. “I am excited, and will be well prepared for my Jury Trial.”
Pinto also filed a no-fault eviction case against Michael Prentky and Celine Berger, former tenants who used to live on the first floor of the Sargent Avenue building. They left the unit, the Boston Globe reported, but they, too, are pushing back against the eviction, arguing that it was retaliatory, they did not receive a notice to quit and their unit had health and safety concerns. Prentky and Berger have demanded a jury trial – a date has not yet been set.
It’s rare that an eviction case heads all the way to jury trial. What’s more: 96.1% of tenants under the threat of eviction in Massachusetts housing court testify pro se – that is, they represent themselves in court – according to the Massachusetts Trial Court’s research and planning department. That’s compared to just 9.2% of plaintiffs.
Rogers has the backing of Emily Mattioli and Katherine Fustich, lawyers from De Novo, a Cambridge-based nonprofit comprised of volunteer attorneys, clinical social workers and other professionals who provide legal assistance in housing and homelessness prevention, family law/domestic violence and other issues.
Pinto is represented by Jahangir Zaheer of Zaheer Law Group, a Lynnfield-based law firm that specializes in landlord-tenant law, business and other forms of litigation.
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