ADC: Challenge to Medford Divestment Ordinances Should Be Dismissed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 16, 2026

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MEDFORD, Mass. | The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) filed a supplemental brief at the court’s request to address specific questions in the challenge to Medford’s Values-Aligned Local Investments Ordinance: whether the plaintiffs have standing to bring the lawsuit in federal court, and whether the City’s agreement to a permanent injunction ends the case. 

The plaintiffs, represented by a pro-Israel group, brought the case as Medford taxpayers  challenging an ordinance that directs the City to align its investments with certain environmental and human rights standards. The city, meanwhile, has effectively abandoned its duty to defend the ordinance by asking the Court to permanently block its enforcement.

ADC represents a group of Medford residents who advocated for the ordinance and are now seeking to intervene in the lawsuit to defend it. ADC argues that the City’s decision to stop defending the ordinance strengthens the residents’ case for intervention because no existing party is now defending the law. In its supplemental brief, ADC argues that the lawsuit should first be dismissed because the plaintiffs have not shown the concrete injury required to bring their claims in federal court. If the Court finds that the plaintiffs have standing, ADC argues that the City’s decision to stop defending the ordinance does not end the case and instead makes the residents’ intervention all the more necessary. 

The filing also points to a September 8 Massachusetts Superior Court decision in Hale v. City of Northampton, which rejected similar taxpayer claims involving another municipal divestment measure. There, the court found that alleged increased investment risk, reduced diversification, and foregone returns were insufficient to establish taxpayer standing under Massachusetts law.

“Plaintiffs cannot paint with a broad brush, point to speculative harms that may never materialize, and call that enough to get into federal court,” said Malak Afaneh, ADC Staff Attorney. “The ordinance has never even been implemented, and taxpayer status alone does not turn hypothetical concerns into a concrete injury.”

“The City cannot abandon the defense of a law enacted by its own legislative body and then use that abandonment to prevent the people seeking to defend it from being heard,” said Jenin Younes, ADC President and Legal Director. “The City’s decision to stop defending the law makes intervention more necessary, not less.”

The City’s decision to stop defending the ordinance has also exposed a sharp divide between the City’s executive and legislative branches. On September 15, the Medford City Council voted 6–1 to adopt a resolution supporting intervention in the case, and Council members signed a declaration detailing their concerns with the City’s handling of the litigation. The Council said it was not consulted before the City agreed to a permanent injunction, that its position has not been reflected in the City’s litigation strategy, and that it supports intervention by the Medford residents represented by ADC so that a defense of the ordinance can continue. The Council also rejected litigation costs as a reason to abandon the defense, noting that it had previously called for at least $75,000 to be allocated to the litigation and remains willing to consider additional funding necessary to continue defending the ordinance. 

ADC is asking the Court to dismiss the lawsuit because the plaintiffs lack standing. If the Court allows the case to continue, ADC is asking it to allow the Medford residents to intervene, reject the City’s attempt to end the case through its stipulation, and allow the ordinance to receive a defense on the merits.

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About ADC

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is the largest Arab American grassroots organization in the United States, founded in 1980 by former Senator James Abourezk.  ADC’s mission is to defend and promote the human rights, civil rights, and liberties of at least 3.7 million Arab Americans residing in the United States. Through its work, ADC fights discrimination, enhances public understanding of Arab history and culture, and partners with marginalized communities globally to advance social justice.