Gary Rogers took the stand in his own defense Tuesday, testifying he didn’t pay the full rental amount expected by his landlord because he never received notice of the higher rent. He also said the landlord never addressed issues with the apartment, including a lack of heat.
Rogers has been sued for non-payment of rent by Ryan Pinto, who bought the apartment building at 22 Sargent Ave. in Somerville where Rogers was a tenant. Rogers, who said Pinto raised the rent 90 percent the past two years, testified for just under an hour on Tuesday.
Rogers said his self-extending lease lists his rent at $1,150 and that he’s not signed any other agreement since he moved in in 2017. So, he has paid $1,150 each month and written “rent” in the memos of every check he has sent to the building manager since December 2023.
Rogers also said that the notice to quit he received from Pinto in April 2024 gave him only 22 days notice, not 30, and did not list a date to vacate his unit. He testified that he understood it as Pinto trying to get rid of the self-extension clause included in his lease and continued to pay $1,150 monthly.
Those checks have been cashed by Pinto’s management company, All County Property Select Management, acknowledged the building manager, Devin Caglayan. Caglayan said that since the time Pinto sent Rogers a notice to quit, his management company has received and processed monthly payments from Rogers as “use and occupancy” – a procedure he said is standard after notices to quit are sent to tenants. Caglayan testified that he does not receive checks himself and that another employee is responsible for depositing them – those payments are then marked in a software system that generates the rental ledger.
When asked about the 90 percent rent increase that Pinto issued to tenants in February 2024, Caglayan said Rogers never reached out to him about rejecting the rent increase.
Caglayan also testified that the rent ledger started recording Rogers’ rent at $2,200 in April 2024, a month before the rent actually increased to that amount, according to the rent increase letter. He said later that he does not control the rent ledger and the April 2024 notation may have been a clerical error out of his control.
After Pinto’s attorneys rested, Rogers’ attorneys motioned for a directed verdict, asking Judge Joseph Kelleher to remove Pinto’s claim of possession of Rogers’ apartment. Rogers’ attorneys argued that witness testimony for the plaintiff did not prove an element of possession. Kelleher denied the motion without prejudice, telling Rogers’ attorneys they could bring up the matter again at the close of evidence.
Tenant complaints
Several witnesses testified on the legitimacy of tenant complaints and whether they were resolved.
Rogers said he participated in drafting a letter with Sargent Tenants Alliance, an organizing group initially including him and the three other 22 Sargent Ave. tenants, who tried to negotiate and advocate for themselves upon Pinto’s purchase of the building. The letter, written and sent to Pinto and Caglayan in March 2024, lists sanitary code violations the tenants identified in the building. Issues that affected Rogers directly included insufficient electrical ampage, a heating system incapable of heating every room and improper maintenance of asbestos.
Rogers testified that the violations the alliance identified existed when he moved into his unit in May 2017 and persist today under Pinto’s ownership. He said that he notified Caglayan and Pinto but they did not initiate repairs in his unit.
Michael Prentky, a former tenant at 22 Sargent Ave. who now lives in Medford and is a member of the alliance, testified about the conditions of Rogers’ apartment.
“I remember, some winter months, we were meeting in Gary’s apartment and it was freezing,” Prentky, said. “He would tell us to bundle up before we even got there. We were sitting around, bundled up, with space heaters.”
Prentky is also pursuing a jury trial against Pinto.
Jackson Dos Santos, a contractor based in Haverhill, testified about work he did at 22 Sargent Ave in April 2024. He said that he received a list of issues to respond to from All County and addressed all of the issues on the list. This list is not the same list that Sargent Tenants Alliance comprised in its letter to Pinto and Caglayan. Dos Santos later testified there may have been outstanding issues in the building by the time he sent an invoice to All County in May 2024 but he did only the work he was assigned, none of which occurred in Rogers’ unit.
During his witness testimony Tuesday, Pinto confirmed that repairs for violations found by the city’s board of health were completed in May 2024. He said there were also repairs “ongoing on a month-to-month basis” and that some complaints were allegations.
When Rogers’ attorneys asked Pinto if he addresses complaints that don’t come from the city’s board of health, he said “not necessarily.”
“[Tenants] could have other motives of making complaints,” Pinto said. “Contractors and licensed professionals determine what’s broken and what needs to be fixed.”
Cross wiring, electrical concerns
Rogers said he notified Caglayan and Pinto about cross wiring on his electric panel in the basement – the panel is supposed to control power to his unit. After waiting for the problem to be solved for a couple months, he said, he called the city’s inspectional services department and got an immediate response.
Joe Marino, a wiring inspector from Somerville’s inspectional services department, testified that he conducted inspections in December 2023 and September 2025 in the Sargent Ave. residence. Both inspections, he said, were requested by Rogers for his third-floor apartment. Marino said that issues outlined in complaints and inspection requests are alleged, not fact – they may only become fact after an inspection is conducted, he said. He added though, that there were actual cross wiring issues found related to Rogers’ apartment and that he generally expects Pinto to make corrections based on the inspection reports he sends to him.
John Foley, a local electrician, said in testimony that he performed services to fix the cross wiring. He said that the issue was not of safety but of making sure people pay for only the electricity they use. When Foley did this work though, he said, he unknowingly turned off Rogers’ electricity, which caused Rogers’ refrigerated medication to spoil. He said Rogers never confirmed to him that his electricity went out or that his medication had spoiled.
Witness testimony is expected to wrap up on Wednesday, which will be a half-day session. Kelleher hopes to let the jury begin deliberation on Thursday.
A stronger
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