Massachusetts procedural guides

Plain-English guides to the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure, each one tied to the rules it relies on. Every rule named in a guide has its own page with the official text.

• Responding to a Massachusetts complaint: 20 days, and 10 after a motion is decidedMass. R. Civ. P. 12(a) gives 20 days to answer and only 10 days after a Rule 12 motion is denied — one of the shortest post-motion periods in the country.
• Setting aside a Massachusetts judgment: Rule 60(b), one year, and the earlier exitsMass. R. Civ. P. 60(b) tracks the federal six grounds with a one-year cap on the first three. The more useful question is usually whether you can get there before judgment.
• Massachusetts discovery deadlines: 45 days for interrogatories, and a final request that can end your caseMassachusetts gives 45 days to answer interrogatories — but ignoring them leads to a "final request for answers" and then an application for entry of final judgment or dismissal.
• Massachusetts summary judgment: 20 days to move, 10 days' notice, and no deadline at the other endMassachusetts Rule 56 lets a claimant move 20 days after the action is commenced and a defending party move at any time — with the motion served at least 10 days before the hearing.
• The Massachusetts motion to dismiss: ten grounds, and three you will not find in the federal ruleMassachusetts Rule 12(b) lists ten defenses that may be raised by motion — including misnomer, a prior pending action, and improper amount of damages — with seven of them waived if omitted.
• The Massachusetts motion to compel: fees are discretionary, but a wrongful denial is notMassachusetts Rule 37 makes fee awards on a motion to compel discretionary and requires a willful failure before non-response sanctions — but expenses for a wrongful refusal to admit are mandatory.
• Massachusetts execution: an appeal stays it automatically, and no bond is required to do itMassachusetts Rule 62(a) bars execution until the appeal period expires, and Rule 62(d) stays execution for the whole appeal on the taking of the appeal alone.
• Massachusetts depositions: everyone in the room with the witness has to log in separatelyMassachusetts Rule 30 carries the most detailed remote-deposition protocol of any state on this site — separate log-ins, feeds that must stay on, and immediate notice if anyone walks into the witness's room.
• Massachusetts dismissal: three years dormant, then a year's warningMassachusetts Rule 41 lets a court dismiss for lack of prosecution after three years on the docket without qualifying activity, on a notice giving a day certain at least one year away.
• Massachusetts subpoenas: a notary public can issue oneMassachusetts Rule 45 lets a clerk, a notary public or a justice of the peace issue a subpoena, measures distance in airline miles from the nearest of three points, and does not require a privilege log.

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