Court Will Not Delay BRA Action; Allston Residents Face Eviction

If four Allston families have not vacated their homes on North Harvard St. by 9 a.m. Wednesday, "they must be physically evicted forthwith" to clear the site for a 212-unit housing project. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Bailey Aldrich '28 ruled yesterday.

Aldrich wrote the opinion of a threeman panel which last Friday heard a motion by the families' attorneys for an order further delaying Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) eviction proceedings.

Mrs. Albert Redgate, spokesman for the families, last night said "this is my home, and I absolutely will not move on my own." She said that if her lawyers fail in their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Suffolk County Deputy Marshalls "will have to come after us again."

Due Process

Edmund E. Fleming and Brian Michael Olmstead, attorneys for the families, asked the panel on Friday for a temporary restraining order which would be in effect until the U.S. Supreme Court could rule on the constitutionality of Massachusetts eviction procedures. Fleming and Olmstead hold that under Massachusetts statutes, evictees are denied the right to due process of law.

Only More Time

In refusing to issue a restraining order. Aldrich and his colleagues ruled that there was little chance the Supreme Court would hold the statute unconstitutional. Furthermore, a victory in the Supreme Court would at best only give the families a little more time, the judges said.

The panel held that denying the families more time in their homes did not constitute "irreparable injury." the only basis upon which an injunction may be granted.

Judges Not Moved

"We are little moved." the judges said, "by the contention that one who has persistently evidenced no interest in whether he has been offered suitable relocation facilities has standing to claim that the statute is unconstitutional in that it provides no opportunity for a hearing."

The BRA, however, would face "irreparable injury" if construction on the proposed housing project was delayed beyond Thursday, the judges said. After that date the contractor hired for the project will not undertake the job for the funds presently available because of the increased costs entailed in a late start.

Fleming and Olmstead last night left for Washington. D.C., where they plan to take the case to the Supreme Court. Today they will attempt to gain a hearing with a single Justice to ask for the injunction which two lower courts have denied.