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Lawsuit Against Mayor Over Linkage Deal Thrown Out of Court

BOSTON-The South Boston Betterment Trust's lawsuit against Mayor Thomas M. Menino has been tossed out of court. The trust claims the mayor renegged on a deal that would have netted the neighborhood millions of dollars in linkage fees from developers.

By Naomi Grossman | Updated on September 06, 2001

BOSTON-The lawsuit against Mayor Thomas M. Menino over his nullification of a deal between a trust in South Boston and developers was thrown out of court. The judge ruled that the deal was a political move and not a legal issue.

The South Boston Betterment Trust, a politically appointed group formed to develop lower-cost housing with the profits from development, had forged a deal that would have given the neighborhood millions of dollars in linkage fees from developers looking to build on the waterfront in the neighborhood. The linkage fees are funds from the developer to the city to compensate for the negative effects of development. Other neighborhoods in the city protested that South Boston was receiving the lion’s share of linkage fees and pressured Menino to get out of the deal.

Menino eventually backed out of the deal, which was signed by a number of the city’s leading politicians including Councilman James M. Kelly, who was then Council President, State Senator Stephen F. Lynch, who is now running for Congress, and State Representative John A. Hart Jr. The trust sued Menino over his reneging on the deal, but the judge ruled that the contract is not binding and was not enforceable in a court of law.

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