Monadnock Ledger-Transcript
Published: 2/17/2021 5:15:26 PM
Emergency relief will not be granted to the former tenants of Peterborough’s Walden Eco Village, a judge ruled last week, but the longer-term class action suit continues.
Thirteen former tenants signed a class action lawsuit at the end of December against Akhil Garland, his business Utopia Living LLC, and the Garland Family Land Trust, of which Garland is a trustee. They sought emergency relief in the form of speedy returns of security deposits, costs associated with moving and emergency housing, and assistance in finding new rental housing at a hearing on Jan. 7.
The suit came after the Town of Peterborough issued a cease and desist order to Garland on Dec. 11, which called for the eviction of the property’s 25 tenants by Dec. 16. Peterborough issued the order after discovering safety hazards within the property’s 15 rental units during an inspection prompted by Garland’s proposal to subdivide and sell the land.