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Nicholas O'Donnell was quoted in the article "Suffolk Superior judge weighs allegations that Boston is inflating commercial property taxes: 'Chills'," published by the Boston Herald on April 29, 2026. The article discusses a Suffolk Superior Court case in which a judge is considering whether Boston improperly inflates commercial property tax assessments for owners who seek abatements, potentially discouraging taxpayers from exercising their rights. The lawsuit alleges a broader retaliatory practice affecting many properties, while the city argues the dispute should be handled as a single valuation case through the Appellate Tax Board.

Nick said the alleged conduct raises constitutional concerns: “It is a retaliatory scheme. The question of law here is, can the city retaliate against those who exercise their First Amendment rights to challenge a property valuation?”

“This is a defined universe; the folks that filed appeals were retaliated against,” he said, and added of City Hall: "They want to pick off every single one of these commercial landowners one at a time. This is a city that's kind of developing a record for retaliation, and it's hard to stand up. My client's the only one standing up with his name on the front, and that took a lot of courage."

He called a city attorney's statement on the matter “astonishing,” adding that “with all due respect to them, no one should have to go to the ATB to be told that retaliating against someone for filing an abatement proceeding is unconstitutional. That’s a self-evident statement.”