SWAMPSCOTT — The eviction dispute between Lincoln’s Landing and its landlord will move forward after a judge ruled on Thursday that claims of unpaid rent could not be resolved before discovery.
The case stems from landlord Alexandros Tsitos’ effort to evict the Humphrey Street restaurant, alleging that the owners had failed to pay a total of $10,800 in rent between March and May 2026.
Last Friday, Jennifer Capone, the attorney representing Lincoln’s Landing, filed a motion to dismiss the case. Capone argued that the restaurant’s owners had paid the rent in question. The motion said that the landlord had accepted the rent payments before filing the eviction action, and that the case should never have been brought to court.
Capone summarized the argument during a pretrial conference in Lynn District Court on Thursday.
“The argument here and in the complaint before the court is that the plaintiff hasn’t received rent, and he has,” Capone said. “At best, this is reckless. Because I reached out to counsel for the plaintiff and put them on notice of this fact once we received the eviction notice, before process was filed with the court.”
Judge Leo Fama III presided over the conference, and said that the parties’ competing claims on the rent should be explored through a discovery process before the court considers whether the case can be resolved without a trial.
Capone maintained that the circumstances and evidence presented before the court rendered the complaint legally defective, warranting dismissal at that time. Fama disagreed, saying the argument amounted to a defense that should be considered after the facts are fully developed.
Natalie Megaloudis, representing Tsitos, likewise argued that the disagreement over rent payments should be resolved through discovery. Megaloudis acknowledged that they had received the evidence in the motion to dismiss, but said she had not had the proper time to review it because it had only been submitted the previous week.
Megaloudis told the court that the plaintiff’s side had not begun any discovery at the time of the pretrial conference. She requested a four-week discovery period to gather and review evidence.
Capone asked the court to move the case as quickly as possible, saying the litigation was affecting her client’s ability to run the restaurant.
“This is injuring my client. It’s causing her time away from her business,” Capone said. “I’m looking for the soonest date available.”
Fama ultimately ordered an expedited discovery schedule, giving both parties until July 30 to serve discovery, until August 13 to deliver answers, and until August 20 to file any motions. He also indicated that Capone’s motion for dismissal could be treated as a motion for summary judgment after discovery is complete.
