reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 260 § 15 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 15 - Acknowledgment or New Promise by Joint Contractor; Effect

Section 15. A joint contractor or his executor or administrator shall not lose the benefit of this chapter so as to be chargeable by reason only of an acknowledgment or promise made or signed, or by reason of a payment made, by any other joint contractor or his executor or administrator.
MA Gen L ch 260 § 16 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 16 - Acknowledgment or New Promise by Joint Contractor; Judgment

Section 16. If, in actions against two or more joint contractors or against the executor or administrator of a joint contractor, it appears that the plaintiff is barred by this chapter as to one or more of such contractors, but is entitled to recover against any other or others of them by virtue of a new acknowledgment or promise or otherwise, judgment shall be given for the plaintiff as to the defendants against whom he is entitled to recover, and for the defendants not liable.
MA Gen L ch 260 § 17 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 17 - Action Not to Be Dismissed for Failure to Join Barred Party Defendant

Section 17. A civil action shall not be dismissed for failure to join a party defendant if it is established by affidavit or otherwise that the action against such party was barred by limitation.
MA Gen L ch 260 § 18 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 18 - Actions by State; Laws Applicable

Section 18. The limitations of the preceding sections of this chapter, and of section thirty-two so far as applicable to personal actions, shall apply to actions brought by or for the commonwealth.
MA Gen L ch 260 § 19 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 19 - Special Limitations

Section 19. If a special provision is otherwise made relative to the limitation of any action, any provision of this chapter inconsistent therewith shall not apply.
MA Gen L ch 260 § 20 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 20 - Presumption of Satisfaction of Judgment

Section 20. A judgment or decree of a court of record of the United States or of any state thereof shall be presumed to be paid and satisfied at the expiration of twenty years after it was rendered.
MA Gen L ch 260 § 21 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 21 - Recovery of Land

Section 21. An action for the recovery of land shall be commenced, or an entry made thereon, only within twenty years after the right of action or of entry first accrued, or within twenty years after the demandant or the person making the entry, or those under whom they claim, have been seized or possessed of the premises; provided, however, that this section shall not bar an action by or on behalf of a nonprofit land conservation corporation or trust for the recovery of land or interests in land held for conservation, parks, recreation, water protection or wildlife protection purposes.
MA Gen L ch 260 § 22 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 22 - Accrual of Right or Title to Land; Limitation

Section 22. If such right or title first accrued to an ancestor or predecessor of the person who brings the action or makes the entry, or to any other person under whom he claims, the twenty years shall be computed from the time when the right or title so first accrued.
MA Gen L ch 260 § 28 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 28 - Possession of Land; Requisites

Section 28. No person shall be held to have been in possession of land within the meaning of this chapter merely by reason of having made an entry thereon, unless he has continued in open and peaceable possession thereof for one year next after such entry or unless an action has been commenced upon such entry and seisin within one year after he was ousted or dispossessed.
MA Gen L ch 260 § 29 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 29 - Estates Tail; Barring Remainders and Reversions

Section 29. If the right of entry or of action of a tenant in tail, or of a person entitled to a remainder in tail, is barred by this chapter, the estate tail and all remainders and reversions expectant thereon shall also be barred, as fully as they might have been by a conveyance made by the tenant in tail in the manner provided in chapter one hundred and eighty-three.
MA Gen L ch 260 § 30 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 30 - Estates Tail; Death of Tenant; Effect

Section 30. If a person entitled to recover land as a tenant in tail or as a remainderman dies before the expiration of the period hereinbefore limited for making an entry or commencing an action therefor, no person claiming any estate which the tenant in tail or remainderman might have barred shall make an entry or commence an action to recover such land, except within the period during which the tenant in tail or remainderman, if he had so long lived, might have made such entry or commenced such action.
MA Gen L ch 260 § 31 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 31 - Actions by Commonwealth

Section 31. No action for the recovery of land shall be commenced by or in behalf of the commonwealth, except within twenty years after its right or title thereto first accrued, or within twenty years after it or those under whom it claims have been seized or possessed of the premises; but this section shall not apply to the province lands in the town of Provincetown lying north and west of the line fixed by section twenty-five of chapter ninety-one, to the Back Bay lands, so called, in Boston, or to any property, right, title or interest of the commonwealth below high water mark or in the great ponds; provided, further, that this section shall not bar any action by or on behalf of the commonwealth, or any political subdivision thereof, for the recovery of land or interests in land held for conservation, open space, parks, recreation, water protection, wildlife protection or other public purpose.
MA Gen L ch 260 § 31a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 31a - Right of Entry for Condition Broken or Possibility of Reverter; Procedure

Section 31A. No proceeding based upon any right of entry for condition broken or possibility of reverter, to which a fee simple or fee simple determinable in land is subject, created before the second day of January, nineteen hundred and fifty-five, shall be maintained in any court after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and sixty-four, unless on or before the first day of January, nineteen hundred and sixty-four, (a) the condition has been broken or the reverter has occurred, and a person or persons having the right of entry or reverter shall have taken possession of the land, and in case of entry made after January first, nineteen hundred and fifty-seven, shall have filed a certificate of entry pursuant to section nineteen of chapter one hundred and eighty-four, or (b) a person or persons having the right of entry, or who would have it if the condition were broken, or would be entitled if the reverter occurred, or one of them if there be more than one, shall by himself, or by his attorney, agent, guardian, conservator or parent, have filed in the registry of deeds, or in the case of registered land, in the registry of the land court, for the district in which the land is situated, a statement in writing, duly sworn to, describing the land and the nature of the right and the deed or other instrument creating it, and where it may be found if recorded or registered, and, in case of registered land, naming the holder or holders of the outstanding certificate of title and stating the number of said certificate, and, in case of land not registered, naming the person or persons appearing of record to own the fee subject to such right or possibility, or shown by the records of the tax assessors at the last prior assessment date to be the owner or owners thereof.  Such statement shall be received and recorded or registered upon payment of the fee required by law, and shall be indexed in the grantor index under the person or persons so named, and in case of registered land, noted on the certificate of title. The register and assistant recorder shall also keep a separate list of such statements.  This section shall apply to all such rights whether or not the owner thereof is a corporation or a charity or a government or governmental subdivision other than the commonwealth, or is under any disability or out of the commonwealth, and it shall apply notwithstanding any recitals in deeds or other instruments heretofore or hereafter recorded, unless a statement is filed as above provided. Nothing in this section shall be construed to extend the period of any other applicable statute of limitations or to authorize the bringing of any proceeding to enforce any right which has been or may be barred by lapse of time or for any other reason.
MA Gen L ch 260 § 32 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 32 - Dismissal of Action or Reversal or Vacation of Judgment; Commencement of New Action

Section 32. If an action duly commenced within the time limited in this chapter is dismissed for insufficient service of process by reason of an unavoidable accident or of a default or neglect of the officer to whom such process is committed or is dismissed because of the death of a party or for any matter of form, or if, after judgment for the plaintiff, the judgment of any court is vacated or reversed, the plaintiff or any person claiming under him may commence a new action for the same cause within one year after the dismissal or other determination of the original action, or after the reversal of the judgment; and if the cause of action by law survives the executor or administrator or the heir or devisee of the plaintiff may commence such new action within said year.
MA Gen L ch 260 § 33 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 33 - Obsolete Mortgages

Section 33. A power of sale in any mortgage of real estate shall not be exercised and an entry shall not be made nor possession taken nor proceeding begun for foreclosure of any such mortgage after the expiration of, in the case of a mortgage in which no term of the mortgage is stated, 35 years from the recording of the mortgage or, in the case of a mortgage in which the term or maturity date of the mortgage is stated, 5 years from the expiration of the term or from the maturity date, unless an extension of the mortgage, or an acknowledgment or affidavit that the mortgage is not satisfied, is recorded before the expiration of such period. In case an extension of the mortgage or the acknowledgment or affidavit is so recorded, the period shall continue until 5 years shall have elapsed during which there is not recorded any further extension of the mortgage or acknowledgment or affidavit that the mortgage is not satisfied. The period shall not be extended by reason of non-residence or disability of any person interested in the mortgage or the real estate, or by any partial payment, agreement, extension, acknowledgment, affidavit or other action not meeting the requirements of this section and sections 34 and 35. Upon the expiration of the period provided herein, the mortgage shall be considered discharged for all purposes without the necessity of further action by the owner of the equity of redemption or any other persons having an interest in the mortgaged property and, in the case of registered land, upon the payment of the fee for the recording of a discharge, the mortgage shall be marked as discharged on the relevant memorandum of encumbrances in the same manner as for any other mortgage duly discharged.
MA Gen L ch 260 § 34 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 34 - Extension of Mortgage; Acknowledgment That Mortgage Not Satisfied, Etc.

Section 34. No extension of the mortgage, and no acknowledgment that the mortgage is not satisfied, whether contained in a conveyance or in a separate instrument, shall be sufficient to extend the period specified in section thirty-three unless it is executed by one or more of the person or persons then appearing of record to own the real estate then subject to the mortgage, and describes the mortgage sufficiently to identify the record of it, and states that the property is subject to the mortgage or that the mortgage is not satisfied. No affidavit that the mortgage is not satisfied shall be sufficient to extend the period unless it is executed by the holder of the mortgage, describes the mortgage sufficiently to identify the record thereof, names one or more of the person or persons then appearing of record to own the real estate then subject to the mortgage, and states that the mortgage remains unsatisfied, and if the mortgage secures a promissory note or sum of money, the amount believed to remain unpaid. The holders of mortgages or other encumbrances shall not be considered owners. The register of deeds upon payment of the fee required by law shall record any such affidavit and any such acknowledgment contained in a separate instrument, and enter upon the margin of the record of the mortgage a note of reference to the record of the affidavit or acknowledgment and index it in the grantor index under the names of the owner or owners named in the affidavit or executing the acknowledgment.
MA Gen L ch 260 § 35 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 35 - Mortgage Defined; Commencement of Proceedings, Prerequisites; Application of Secs. 33 to 35

Section 35. For the purposes of this section and sections 33 and 34, the term ''mortgage'' includes any deed of trust or other conveyance made for the purpose of securing performance of a debt or obligation, and no proceeding shall be considered begun until a memorandum, as required by section 15 of chapter 184, has been recorded in the registry of deeds for the county or recording district in which the real estate is situated. When any mortgage includes parcels in different ownerships at the time of recording of an extension, acknowledgment or affidavit the recording shall be sufficient only for the parcels which the owner or owners executing the extension or acknowledgment or named in the affidavit then appear of record to own. When the real estate is situated in more than 1 county or district, recording in any county or district shall be sufficient only for the real estate there situated. This section and sections 33 and 34 shall not revive, preserve or extend any mortgage otherwise ineffective nor affect enforcement of the debt or obligation otherwise than against the real estate mortgaged.
MA Gen L ch 260 § 36 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations|Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions|Section 36 - Application; Computation

Section 36. The provisions of law relative to limitations of actions shall apply to a counterclaim by the defendant. The time of such limitation shall be computed as if an action had been commenced therefor at the time the plaintiff's action was commenced.  Notwithstanding the provisions of the first paragraph of this section, a counterclaim arising out of the same transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the plaintiff's claim, to the extent of the plaintiff's claim, may be asserted without regard to the provisions of law relative to limitations of actions.  This section shall apply to actions brought by the commonwealth or for its benefit.
MA Gen L ch 261 § 1 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title VI - Costs and Fees|Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions|Section 1 - Prevailing Party to Recover Costs

Section 1. In civil actions the prevailing party shall recover his costs, except as otherwise provided.
MA Gen L ch 261 § 2 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title VI - Costs and Fees|Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions|Section 2 - Insolvency of Defendant

Section 2. If a discontinuance or a nonsuit is entered in an action solely in consequence of an answer of the defendant which alleges his discharge in bankruptcy or insolvency, the defendant shall recover no costs. If issue is joined upon such defence solely and judgment is rendered for the defendant, he shall recover only his costs accruing after the joinder of such issue.
MA Gen L ch 261 § 4 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title VI - Costs and Fees|Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions|Section 4 - Superior Court Cases

Section 4. If, in a personal action, except an action of replevin or an action under section fifteen of chapter two hundred and fifty-three, which is commenced in the superior court, the plaintiff does not recover final judgment for more than one hundred dollars as damages, he shall recover no costs, unless the right to an easement or the title to land is drawn in question and the justice before whom the action is tried so certifies.
MA Gen L ch 261 § 5 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title VI - Costs and Fees|Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions|Section 5 - Offer of Payment and Satisfaction; Effect

Section 5. If a defendant brings money into court and offers it in satisfaction of the damages, the plaintiff shall in all cases recover the costs which had previously accrued.
MA Gen L ch 261 § 6 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title VI - Costs and Fees|Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions|Section 6 - Real Actions and Replevin

Section 6. The prevailing party in a real action or in replevin shall recover costs irrespective of the amount of damages recovered.
MA Gen L ch 261 § 7 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title VI - Costs and Fees|Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions|Section 7 - Unnecessary Actions

Section 7. A plaintiff who brings several actions in the same or in different courts against the same defendant upon causes of action which might have been joined in one action, or who brings separate actions against defendants who might have been joined, shall recover costs in one action only, unless the court, after a hearing, otherwise orders.
MA Gen L ch 261 § 8 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title VI - Costs and Fees|Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions|Section 8 - Cases Tried Together

Section 8. If two or more cases are tried together in the supreme judicial court, in the superior court, in the housing court of the city of Boston, in the western division of the housing court department, the northeastern division of the housing court department, the southeastern division of the housing court department, in the housing court of the county of Worcester or in a district court, the presiding justice may reduce the witness fees and other costs; but not less than the ordinary witness fees and other costs recoverable in one of the cases which are so tried together shall be allowed.
MA Gen L ch 261 § 9 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title VI - Costs and Fees|Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions|Section 9 - Judgment on Certain Counts Only; Effect on Costs

Section 9. If a verdict is rendered for the plaintiff upon one or more counts upon several and distinct claims, and for the defendant upon any others, each party shall recover costs for the travel and attendance of witnesses, for depositions and for other evidence produced, examined or used on the trial of the counts upon which the verdict is in his favor, but shall not recover for the like charges incurred on the trial of the other counts.
MA Gen L ch 261 § 10 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title VI - Costs and Fees|Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions|Section 10 - Subsequent Actions for Same Cause; Conditions Precedent for Commencement

Section 10. If a judgment for costs upon a nonsuit, discontinuance or dismissal remains unsatisfied, the court in which a subsequent action for the same cause is brought may order proceedings therein to be stayed until such costs have been paid, and may further order that the action be dismissed unless they are paid within a time fixed by the order.
MA Gen L ch 261 § 11 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title VI - Costs and Fees|Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions|Section 11 - Double or Treble Costs; Allowance

Section 11. If double or treble costs are allowed, the witness fees, the costs of taking depositions, of procuring evidence and of copies and all court dues, shall be taxed and recovered singly, and the remainder only of the taxable costs shall be doubled or trebled.
MA Gen L ch 261 § 13 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases|Title VI - Costs and Fees|Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions|Section 13 - Discretion of Court

Section 13. In civil actions or other proceedings in which no provision is expressly made by law, the costs shall be wholly in the discretion of the court, but no greater amount shall be taxed therein than is allowed for similar charges in actions in which costs are expressly provided for by law.