Massachusetts execution: an appeal stays it automatically, and no bond is required to do it
Massachusetts procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
Most states make a judgment debtor buy a stay. Post a supersedeas bond for the full judgment, and enforcement pauses; fail to, and collection proceeds while the appeal runs.
Massachusetts does not work that way. Rule 62(d) stays execution "during the pendency of the appeal" on the taking of the appeal, and says nothing about security.
Before that, Rule 62(a) bars execution altogether until the time for appeal has run.
Nothing issues until the appeal period expires
Mass. R. Civ. P. 62(a):
Automatic Stay; Exceptions — Injunctions and Receiverships. Except as stated herein, no execution shall issue upon a judgment nor shall proceedings be taken for its enforcement until the time for appeal from the judgment has expired. In the District Court, in the case of a default judgment, no execution shall issue until 10 days after entry of such judgment. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, an interlocutory or final judgment in an action for an injunction or in a receivership action shall not be stayed during the period after its entry and until an appeal is taken or during the pendency of an appeal. The provisions of subdivision (c) of this rule govern the suspending, modifying, restoring, or granting of an injunction during the pendency of an appeal.
| Automatic stay | until the time for appeal has expired |
| District Court default judgment | 10 days after entry |
| Injunction and receivership judgments | not stayed, unless the court orders otherwise |
The stay is tied to a period, not a fixed day count. Where the appeal window is thirty days, that is what you get; where a post-judgment motion resets it, the stay stretches with it.
The District Court carve-out cuts the other way. A default judgment there is executable ten days after entry, which is a short runway if you are trying to vacate it. See setting aside a Massachusetts judgment.
Taking the appeal is the stay
Rule 62(d):
Stay Upon Appeal. Except as otherwise provided in these rules, the taking of an appeal from a judgment shall stay execution upon the judgment during the pendency of the appeal.
One sentence, and it does a great deal of work.
No bond is named. The stay follows from the act of appealing, not from posting security. Compare the federal rule, where a stay pending appeal comes by supersedeas bond, and Arizona, where the automatic stay lasts fifteen days and anything longer requires security.
It lasts the whole appeal, not a fixed number of days.
Two limits are worth keeping in view. The stay is subject to whatever the rules "otherwise provide", and the injunction and receivership judgments carved out of 62(a) are not helped by 62(d) either — Rule 62(c) governs those, and lets the court suspend, modify, restore or grant an injunction during the appeal "upon such terms as to bond or otherwise as it considers proper."
Rule 62(e) preserves the appellate court's own power to stay proceedings or "make any order appropriate to preserve the status quo."
A stay while you attack the judgment
Rule 62(b):
Stay on Motion to Vacate Judgment. In its discretion and on such conditions for the security of the adverse party as are proper, the court may stay the execution of or any proceedings to enforce a judgment pending the disposition of a motion for relief from a judgment or order made pursuant to Rule 60.
Massachusetts narrows this one. The federal rule lists four motions — judgment as a matter of law, amended findings, new trial, and relief from judgment. Rule 62(b) here names Rule 60 only.
That does not leave a Rule 59 movant without protection, because 62(a) already bars execution while the appeal period runs and a timely Rule 59 motion extends it. But if you want an order in hand, the express route is a Rule 60 motion.
Unlike 62(d), this stay is discretionary and comes with conditions for the security of the adverse party.
Rule 62(f) covers a Rule 54(b) judgment on fewer than all claims: the court may stay enforcement until later judgments enter.
How the judgment is enforced
Mass. R. Civ. P. 69:
Process to enforce a judgment for the payment of money shall be a writ of execution, unless the court directs otherwise. The procedure on execution, in proceedings on and in aid of execution shall be in accordance with applicable statutes. In aid of the judgment or execution, the judgment creditor or his successor in interest when that interest appears of record, may obtain discovery from any person, including the judgment debtor, in the manner provided in these rules.
Three sentences, and only the last is self-executing.
The instrument is a writ of execution. The procedure belongs to the statutes — which is where exemptions, trustee process and the mechanics of a levy live, none of them in the civil rules.
The discovery provision is the part practitioners use. Post-judgment discovery runs "in the manner provided in these rules", so the ordinary machinery applies: interrogatories, document requests, depositions, and with them the ordinary objections and protective orders. It may be had from any person, by the creditor or by a successor in interest whose interest appears of record.
Because it is ordinary discovery, the ordinary compel practice governs a refusal. Massachusetts makes fees on a motion to compel discretionary, and awards them against a party whose denial was wrongful. See the Massachusetts motion to compel.
Where this connects
For the case itself, see the Massachusetts motion to dismiss, which carries ten grounds — three of them absent from the federal rule — and Massachusetts summary judgment.
How Massachusetts compares
| Massachusetts | Washington | Arizona | Federal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic stay after entry | until the appeal period expires | 10 days | 15 days | 30 days |
| Appeal alone stays execution | yes, for the whole appeal | to 14 days after entry | no | no |
| Bond required for the appellate stay | not by the rule | — | yes | yes |
| District Court default judgment | 10 days | — | — | — |
| Stay pending a Rule 59 motion | not named | yes | yes | yes |
| Stay pending a Rule 60 motion | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Injunctions stayed | no | no | no | no |
A short checklist
- Nothing issues while the appeal period runs. Confirm the window and whether a post-judgment motion extended it.
- If you appeal, the stay follows — Rule 62(d) does not require a bond.
- A District Court default judgment is executable in ten days. Move quickly there.
- For a stay while you attack the judgment, move under Rule 60 and expect conditions for security.
- Injunction and receivership judgments are not stayed. Ask under Rule 62(c) instead.
- Expect post-judgment discovery under the ordinary rules, including from third parties.
- For exemptions and levy procedure, go to the statutes — Rule 69 does not supply them.
Where these rules live
- Mass. R. Civ. P. 62 — Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment
- Mass. R. Civ. P. 69 — Execution
- Mass. R. Civ. P. 60 — Relief from Judgment or Order
This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and what property is exempt from execution is governed by statutes this site doesn't cover.