Neighbors of South Boston Lithuanian club sue over what they charge are excessively loud events, drunken, drugged revelers and harassment

A Suffolk Superior Court judge holds a hearing tomorrow afternoon on a request from Adam and Shelby Burns, who live behind the South Boston Lithuanian Citizens Association on West Broadway for a temporary restraining order that would effectively shut the club down as they pursue the suit they filed today over alleged noise, rowdiness and harassment by the club, its managers and its patrons.

Adam Burns, a local developer, and his wife, live in a condo on E Street at Athens Street. In their request for a temporary restraining order, filed with their lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court, they document what they say are a repeated series of violations of city noise ordinances from events, starting in 2022, at the association building at 368 West Broadway that often do not have required permits or run longer than allowed. And, they charge, they are often attended by people who then continue to drink and do drugs outside as they leave behind a layer of cigarette butts, broken glass and other detritus:

For several years now, Mr. and Mrs. Burns have suffered through persistent and intolerable noise issues emanating from the SBLCA. They have tried everything to make it stop. The SBLCA has refused to cooperate and regrettably has forced Mr. and Mrs. Burns to file this litigation.

The Burnses say they have asked repeatedly, and at least initially, politely, to get the club to quiet things down and do something about patrons at its events.

The association ignored their requests until, one day, they allege, the hall manager told them, in essence, tough, the association was there first and they should have done a better job of investigating their prospective neighbors before buying their condo. They charge that after that, the manager began filming them on the street and even in their own home in an attempt to intimidate them.

The Burnses say they tried installing a third pane in their bedroom window and putting in sound-absorbing curtains to no avail, and things are so bad they've had to find "alternative living arrangements" on nights they know the association will be hosting events.

Equally useless to date, they allege: Complaints to the Boston Licensing Board and the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, both of which have rules requiring holders of liquor licenses to be good neighbors.

Among their filings are affidavits by two residents of 376 West Broadway, one of whom said things have gotten so bad since 2022 - he and his wife sometimes had to push their way through patrons on returning from walks with their young child in her stroller - that he was finally forced to sell his own condo and move away. The other, who has lived there since 2012, complained of "drunken pushing, shoving and other horseplay involving guests of the SBLCA."

In their request for a temporary restraining order, the couple specifically asks a judge to immediately stop the association from:

[H]olding any events, banquets, or meetings with recorded or live music, an amplification system, and/or dancing, including, but not limited to, weddings, baby and/or bridal showers, anniversaries, graduations, birthday parties, funeral receptions, community meetings and events, corporate and private meetings and events, organization meetings and events, plays and performances until further order from this Court.

Although the association will have to answer the request for a temporary restraining order tomorrow, it does not have to answer the couple's suit until Jan. 31, according to court records.

Request for a temporary restraining order, which mirrors the allegations in the lawsuit (4.3M PDF).