Medford Housing Authority Denies Alleged Civil Rights Violations, Seeks Dismissal

The Medford Housing Authority has denied any wrongdoing in response to allegations of civil rights violations brought forward by a family of Haitian immigrants.

claiming that, despite numerous complaints, officials failed to do anything about an unstable neighbor who eventually burned their unit. It also claims the housing authority gave white tenants preferential treatment.

In court papers filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Boston, attorneys for the housing authority denied all allegations brought forward by the Polynices.

"The plaintiffs claims are barred by fraud," said the filing, submitted by attorneys John Egan and Amy McCallen.

The filing demands the case be dismissed and for the housing authority to be awarded legal fees and any other damages the court sees fit.

The Polynices, sisters from Haiti, say the housing authority ignored their repeated complaints about Jerard DeMattia, their next-door neighbor who allegedly lit their apartment on fire in July 2009, according to their complaint, filed in July.

Following the fire, the Polynices said they were told by housing authority officials to find a homeless shelter to stay.

But the housing authority denies that claim, according to the filing by Egan and McCallen.

The lawsuit also claims the housing authority put three white families up in the Hyatt Place Hotel for three days when there were electrical problems, and that the authority would not replace a trash barrel stolen from the Polynices, but quickly replaced the lost trash barrels of white neighbors. The housing authority denies both claims, according to the filing by Egan and McCallen.

Though the lawsuit was filed by the Polynices in July, the housing authority was not issued a summons until early November, according to a federal court docket. They were required to respond to the allegations by Nov. 30.

The Polynices' claims were submitted by Attorneys Kristen Morrill and Rahsaan Hall. Hall is an attorney with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, a non-profit group that provides pro-bono representation to victims of race or national origin discrimination.

Presiding over the case is U.S. District Court Judge Mark Wolf.