Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Massachusetts

injunctions

I am the legal guardian of a mentally incapacitated person whom is being harrassed by her neighbor, both living in a Section 8 housing project. The ''harrassor'' is not a family member nor a person whom could be otherwise technically'' be served with a restraning order. I am thinking that an injuction could be served & have seen various ''boiler plate'' injunctive forms on other legal websites which I thought I might use on her (my ward's) behalf. However, what good (if any) would such a form do if it has no punitive enforcement or does not give injunctive relief and/or, if the harrassing party decides to ignore it? Rather than serving a form that would have no relief, is there relief afforded through the court system to such a person as my ward that does not qualify for the relief that a restraining order would serve, but obviously more than just doing nothing at all. Talking to the ''harrassor'' deliberately, but politely & asking in writing that the harrassment discontinue has served no purpose nor going through the Section 8 managing agent. No physical harm (mental harm, yes) has come to my ward & I have been witness to the harrassment. I am not an attorney (just a CPA) & would appreciate any advice, legal or otherwise. Thank-you all


Asked on 6/15/07, 9:17 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
George Davis Law Office of T. George Davis, Jr.

Re: injunctions

You don't describe the activities in question, so I don't know what kind of harassment you mean and how egregious it might be. In any event, your best bet may be to consider pursuing criminal harassment charges. Massachusetts requires that there be 3 separate instances of harassment before criminal charges can be brought. If there are at least 3 such incidents that are severe enough to constitute harassment, I suggest you contact the local police, who can file an application for criminal complaint with the local district court. If the police decline to follow through (for whatever reason), then you can file an application for criminal complaint with the court yourself on behalf of your ward. Other than this course of action, my best guess from what little I know is that an injunction would not serve your purposes very well, and would be more difficult to obtain. Feel free to contact me directly if you have additional questions.

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Answered on 6/15/07, 9:47 am


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