Overview
The Southeast Housing Court (SEHC) is a department of the Massachusetts Trial Court, which was established by Section 2 of Chapter 755 of the Acts of 1987 and approved January 14, 1988. Section 78 of Chapter 47 of the Acts of 2017 established that SEHC no longer had jurisdiction over Abington, Bridgewater, Brockton, East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, and Whitman, effective July 1, 2017. However, SEHC continued to hear cases that originated in these communities through August 13, 2018, as part of the communities’ transition to the Metro South Housing Court.
According to the state Housing Court’s website,
The Housing Court Department has jurisdiction over civil and criminal actions, including equitable relief, which involve the health, safety, or welfare of the occupants or owners of residential housing. The Court hears summary process (eviction) cases, small claims cases, and civil actions involving personal injury, property damage, breach of contract, discrimination, and other claims. The Housing Court also hears code enforcement actions and appeals of local zoning board decisions that affect residential housing. The Housing Court has 15 judges authorized to serve its 6 divisions—Central, Eastern, Northeast, Southeast, Western, and Metro South—and conducts sessions in over 20 locations every week.
SEHC covers the geographic area represented by Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Nantucket, and Plymouth Counties, which encompasses 107 cities and towns.
SEHC holds court sessions at its main administrative office at 289 Rock Street in Fall River. In addition to this office, SEHC holds additional court sessions in New Bedford, Taunton, Plymouth, and Barnstable. Because of staffing limitations, SEHC instituted a rolling schedule under which different court locations are open on different days. Currently, the New Bedford location is open on Monday, Thursday, and Friday; the Fall River location on Monday through Thursday; the Taunton location on Tuesday; the Plymouth location on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; and the Barnstable location on Wednesday. SEHC has 28 employees, who work at the different court locations based on this rolling schedule.
As shown below, SEHC received $1,418,316 in total revenue and processed 13,087 cases during our audit period. Of these, 7,244 were summary process cases.
|
Fiscal Year |
Revenue Received |
All Processed Cases |
Summary Process Cases |
|
2018 |
$ 872,173 |
8,016 |
3,679 |
|
2019 (through March 31, 2019) |
546,143 |
5,071 |
3,565 |
|
Total |
$ 1,418,316 |
13,087 |
7,244 |
| Date published: | March 12, 2020 |
|---|