Marsters v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts (originally John Simmons, Mass. Senior Action Council, et al. v. Charles Baker (as Governor) et al.)

October 26, 2022

Update (June 18, 2024) The court approved a settlement agreement reached in April, 2024 between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and plaintiffs. As part of the settlement, the Commonwealth agreed to invest in new housing opportunities and community-based programs for older adults and persons with physical disabilities or mental illness.

The lawsuit was originally filed in October 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against the Commonwealth by six individuals with disabilities living in nursing facilities who were unable to return to the community without additional support from the state.

Justice in Aging joined Greater Boston Legal Services and Center for Public Representation in the lawsuit, with pro bono support from Foley Hoag. The lawsuit asserted that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was in violation of the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) and the Medicaid Act, and this violation disproportionately impacted people of color.

Original named plaintiff John Simmons was a Black man (since deceased) with a medical and psychiatric disability who had unwillingly spent over three years in a nursing facility in Everett. He was determined to move back to an apartment with supports in Boston. Plaintiff Lorraine Simpson, a Black woman originally from Jamaica, has been kept in a nursing facility in Worcester because she was homeless and denied residential services in Worcester County.

Their complaint claimed that Charlie Baker (Governor at the time the lawsuit was filed) and other state officials had failed to provide community residential services and supports, and this failure had forced thousands of people with disabilities to live in segregated nursing facilities rather than in the community.