A homeowner on Martha’s Vineyard has sparked a legal war against her elderly neighbors, who she says are trespassing on her land to gain access to the beach.
Melinda Loberg, a longtime resident of the famed Massachusetts island, filed a lawsuit against Havenside, a non-profit that provides housing for seniors, on May 12.
Loberg, who works as a secretary for a local elderly support group, claimed Havenside’s senior living tenants were illegally crossing her ritzy waterfront land to get to Vineyard Haven Harbor.
She has lived at her $5 million idyllic home on Crocker Avenue with her husband since July 1992, and now, more than three decades later, Havenside has told Loberg its residents have a right to use a small path on her property to get to the water.
The independent living facility first informed Loberg of its easement to the property in June 2024 after sending her a letter detailing that they would be allowing its residents to use the 13-foot corridor on the north side of her land to gain access to the beach, according to the lawsuit obtained by DailyMail.com.
The 16-page lawsuit, which goes over a detailed history of the beachfront property, claimed that when she and her husband Michael first purchased the home on the luxurious island, the deed did not at all reference any access easements.
It went on to state that any access rights were taken away before Havenside took over its property. Loberg also emphasized that she has been using the land for 30 years which voids the corporation’s past claims to it.
In response, Havenside said that information is false and that it has had an easement there since 1890, the Vineyard Gazette reported.
Loberg claims elderly tenants from Havenside were illegally crossing her land to get to Vineyard Haven Harbor (her property is circled in red on the left, and the senior home is circled on the right)
Melinda Loberg filed a lawsuit against Havenside, a non-profit that provides housing for seniors, on May 12, alleging its tenants have illegally been entering her property to gain access to a beach
The specific area that the senior center is claiming to control is a space that the Loberg’s ‘cleared the existing vegetation’ from, along with ‘removed tires, bottles, car mats, and large chunks of macadam and then planted Parcel 2A with grass,’ the documents read.
Following the cleanup, the couple decided to install a 170-foot fence along the area in question – cutting off access for more than two decades, the lawsuit stated.
Havenside said they planned to gain access to the beach by cutting the grass between the fence and garden beds to construct an entry gate, the filing continued.
After informing Loberg of its plans, the corporation sent a tenant by the name of Frank Rapoza over to the property, ‘carrying tools,’ so he could ‘install’ the fence, per the lawsuit.
Tensions quickly rose when Loberg saw him standing in her driveway ready to get to work, so much so that she threatened to call the police if he attempted to install the gate.
With that, Rapoza fled the property, but soon after Loberg received a phone call from him ‘threatening to return and install the gate,’ the lawsuit detailed.
‘In response to this phone call, Plaintiff installed a “No Trespass” sign on the Property line near the Havenside Property,’ it added.
A manager with Havenside then reached out to Loberg and stated that Rapoza ‘was not an agent of Havenside or its Board. Any representation otherwise has never been authorized.’
The independent living facility (pictured) first informed Loberg of its easement to the property in June 2024 after sending her a letter detailing that they would be allowing its residents to use the 13-foot corridor on the north side of her land to gain access to the beach
The 16-page lawsuit claims that when she and her husband Michael first purchased the home, the deed did not at all reference any access easements. (Pictured: The small strip of land on the property)
Loberg, a former Tisbury select board member, chose to sit down with Havenside on July 14, 2024 to talk about the issue, but ‘representatives were not inclined to discuss alternative solutions and instead insisted upon the existence of the purported access easement,’ her lawsuit read.
Later that month, the corporation offered to ‘remove’ the easement in exchange for ‘a cash payment,’ but Loberg denied the ‘extortive offer.’
By October of that year, Havenside filed a Wetlands Protection Act Notice of Intent (NOI) with the local Conservation Commission ‘seeking approval to make improvements on Plaintiff’s Property within the alleged Access Easement,’ the lawsuit said.
In that filing, ‘Havenside falsely claimed to be the owner of the Property, failing to accurately fill out Section 3 requiring them to list the Property Owner if different from the applicant,’ it went on.
In February, the Loberg’s said they ‘discovered a group from Havenside, including Mr. Rapoza, trespassing on Plaintiff’s Property and in the process of cutting Plaintiff’s Fence in order to install a gate.’
The lawsuit also included and image of Rapoza, and alleged managed of Havenside, and unknown person ‘destroying a section of Plaintiff’s Fence and installing the gate’ (pictured)
Loberg then called the police who asked the group to vacate, but ‘declined’ to forcibly remove them, noting that it was a ‘civil matter.’
The lawsuit also included an image of Rapoza, an alleged ‘manager of Havenside,’ and unknown person ‘destroying a section of Plaintiff’s Fence and installing the gate.’
A police report was also filed in relation to the incident.
‘Mr. Rapoza subsequently returned and finished installing the Gate,’ the lawsuit said, adding that Havenside has since added signage to the entrance of Loberg’s property stating that residents are allowed to use that as an access point to the beach.
Loberg ‘feels harassed and threatened by the conduct of Havenside’s tenants and does not feel safe on her Property as a result of their conduct,’ the filing concluded.
She has demanded that ‘Havenside, its guests, tenants and invitees’ are not allowed to access her property and that it does not benefit from any easement over the Plaintiff’s Property for the purpose of accessing Vineyard Haven Harbor.’
Loberg (far left) ‘feels harassed and threatened by the conduct of Havenside’s tenants and does not feel safe on her Property as a result of their conduct’
An initial hearing was held on May 20 and the next is set for June 16, according to documents.
Lucinda Kirk, the property manager of Havenside, told the Vineyard Gazette Loberg’s claims in the lawsuit are ‘bogus’ and were made as a way for her to get rid of the non-profit by bringing on legal fees.
‘The issue for Havenside is to provide equal access for our residents,’ Kirk told the outlet.
‘We have residents with limited mobility and chronic health conditions who need safe and easy access to the beach. Serenity and saltwater are important for our senior’s health.’
Kirk said Havenside is working on obtaining a pro bono lawyer to fight for residents to gain access to the waterfront.
DailyMail.com contacted Loberg’s attorney and Havenside for comment.