reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 114 - Excessive or Unreasonable Attachments; Manner of Reduction or Discharge

Section 114. If an excessive or unreasonable attachment, by trustee process or otherwise, is made, the defendant or person whose property has been attached may submit a written motion, in any county, to a justice of the court to which such process is returnable, for a reduction of the amount of the attachment or for its discharge. Notice of such motion shall be served upon each of the parties in accordance with the applicable rules of court. If, upon a summary hearing of the parties, it is found that the action is one to recover for an amount which is liquidated or ascertainable by calculation, and the attachment is for a larger sum than the amount of the claim and such additional amount as is reasonably necessary to include interest thereon and costs likely to be taxed in the action, or if it appears that the amount of the claim is unliquidated and unascertainable by calculation and that the amount of the attachment is excessive or unreasonable, the court shall reduce or dissolve the attachment or order a part of the goods, estates, effects or credits to be released.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 114a - Real Estate Attachments; Expiration by Operation of Law

Section 114A. An attachment of land, or of a right or interest therein, shall, unless otherwise dissolved, expire by operation of law at the end of six years from the date of filing the same in the office of the register of deeds in the county or district where said land or some part of it is situated, unless said register shall, within said period, at the written request of the plaintiff or his attorney bring forward the same upon the books of attachments. At the expiration of six years from the time of any such first or subsequent bringing forward, such attachment shall expire as aforesaid unless within such period it is again brought forward in like manner. The register shall record every such written request in his office and shall be entitled to the same fee for bringing forward each such attachment upon the books where such attachments are recorded as for the original entry thereof in such books.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 115 - Dissolution of Attachment Upon Exhaustion of Appellate Review

Section 115. If the judgment in a civil action is for the defendant, the attachment shall be dissolved upon the exhaustion of all possible appellate review of such judgment if it is upheld.
The provisions of this section shall apply to property attached upon a counterclaim when judgment is rendered for the plaintiff upon such counterclaim.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 115a - Failure of Service Upon Defendant

Section 115A. If real property of the defendant is attached in any action and no service is made upon him, the attachment shall be dissolved unless it appears of record that notice of such action has been given to him, in such manner as the court orders, within sixty days after the commencement of the action, or within such further time as the court may allow.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 116 - Death of Defendant

Section 116. An attachment of real or personal property shall be dissolved if the debtor dies before it is taken or seized on execution and administration of his estate is granted in the commonwealth upon an application therefor made within one year after his decease. The attaching officer shall also, upon demand, and upon receiving from the executor or administrator of such debtor so appointed his legal fees and charges for attaching and keeping the property attached by him, deliver it to such executor or administrator. But no attachment of property, real or personal, shall be so dissolved upon that part of the property which the debtor had alienated before his decease.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 117 - Attaching Officer; Liability for Net Proceeds

Section 117. If the officer has, before such demand, sold on execution the personal property attached or a right of redeeming land attached as aforesaid, he shall not be a trespasser, but shall be liable only for the proceeds of the sale after deducting his legal fees and charges for attaching, keeping and selling the property attached. Such proceeds may be recovered by the executor or administrator in a civil action.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 118 - Liability of Creditor for Proceeds Paid Over to Him

Section 118. If the officer in such case has, before such demand, paid over the proceeds of the sale to the judgment creditor, he shall not be liable therefor, but the executor or administrator, if appointed as before provided, may recover in a civil action from the judgment creditor the amount so paid to him.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 119 - Counterclaim

Section 119. The defendant, in an action founded on either of the three preceding sections, shall not be allowed to counter-claim for a demand against the executor or administrator, or against the estate of the deceased.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 120 - Dissolution of Attachment Upon Giving of Bond

Section 120. A defendant whose property has been attached in a civil action may at any time dissolve the attachment by giving a bond with sufficient sureties, who shall be approved by the plaintiff or by his attorney in writing, by a master in chancery, or by a justice of a court if the attachment is made within the jurisdiction of such justice, conditioned to pay the plaintiff, within thirty days from the expiration of the time to appeal such final judgment, or within thirty days of the entry of an order of the supreme judicial court or the appeals court affirming such final judgment, such amount, if any, as he may recover; and also to pay to the plaintiff, within thirty days from the expiration of the time to appeal a special judgment entered in accordance with the provisions of chapter two hundred and thirty-five, the amount, if any, for which such special judgment shall be entered. Sureties shall not be sufficient unless they are satisfactory to the plaintiff or unless the magistrate finds that each, if there are only two, is worth, in excess of his indebtedness, an amount equal to that for which the attachment is made; or, if there are more than two, that they are together worth twice such amount.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 121 - Bond; Hearing Before Approval

Section 121. Before such bond is approved, the defendant, or a person in his behalf, shall make application in writing to the magistrate, specifying therein the names and residences of the proposed sureties and, except in case the proposed surety is a surety company qualified to do business in the commonwealth, therein setting forth the property with which each of said sureties proposes to qualify, and in case said property, as so set forth, be realty, then giving the name of the town where the same is located. Notice of the time and place of the hearing, containing a copy of the application to the magistrate shall be served upon the plaintiff in accordance with the applicable rules of court; but the plaintiff or his attorney may in writing waive such notice or may approve the bond at any time.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 122 - Debtor's Fees and Costs

Section 122. If the attachment is dissolved and the defendant prevails, his costs shall include the fees of the magistrate and the premium or premiums paid for the bond dissolving such attachment, if it be a surety company bond.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 123 - Debtor's Bond; Filing

Section 123. Such bond and the bond required by section one hundred and twenty-seven shall be filed by the defendant with the clerk of the court to which the writ is returnable, or in which the action is pending, within ten days after its approval, and the attachment shall not be dissolved until the bond shall have been so filed. The plaintiff may take such bonds from the files upon leaving on file a copy thereof attested by the clerk; and the plaintiff may tax the cost of such copy as part of his costs in an action on such bond.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 124 - Release of Sureties of Insolvent Debtor

Section 124. If, within four months after an attachment of property has been made on mesne process in a civil action founded on a claim which would, if proved, be barred by a discharge in insolvency of the defendant and after such attachment has been dissolved as provided in the four preceding sections, proceedings in insolvency are instituted by or against the defendant, the action shall, upon the suggestion of any party interested, be continued to await the result of such proceedings in insolvency; and if the debtor receives his discharge in insolvency, the sureties on the bond given by him to dissolve the attachment shall be released from all liability thereon.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 126 - Fees

Section 126. The magistrate may adjourn such hearing from time to time. He shall determine the fees of the appraisers. The applicant shall pay the fees of the magistrate and the appraisers; but if final judgment is in his favor, they shall be taxed as a part of his costs. The magistrate's certificate of the amount shall be filed before said fees are allowed as a part of the taxable costs.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 127 - Fraudulently Conveyed Realty

Section 127. If an attachment of real property is made under sections sixty-seven and sixty-eight, the person in whose name the record title of the property attached stands, or a person in his behalf, may, before final judgment, dissolve the attachment by giving bond to the plaintiff, with sufficient sureties, conditioned to pay him, if he establishes his title to the land in a civil action against the person having the record title thereto at the time of the attachment, the ascertained value of the land, or so much thereof as shall satisfy the amount, if any, which the plaintiff shall recover upon final judgment, or upon a special judgment under chapter two hundred and thirty-five, in the action in which such attachment was made. All proceedings required in the two preceding sections shall apply to the dissolution of an attachment under this section. In the trial of such action to establish title, the record of the attachment and of final or special judgment, as the case may be, in the action in which the attachment was made shall be conclusive evidence of a momentary seisin of the land in the plaintiff to enable him to maintain an action therefor upon his own seisin; but no such action to establish title shall be brought after the expiration of one year from the date of such final or special judgment. If the plaintiff recovers judgment on such action he shall not have an execution for possession, but may have an execution for costs.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 128 - Deposit

Section 128. A defendant may dissolve an attachment by depositing with the attaching officer an amount of money equal at least to the amount of the attachment, which the officer shall hold in place of the property attached and which shall be subject to be disposed of in the same manner.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 129 - Individual Property of One Defendant

Section 129. A defendant whose individual property has been attached in an action against several defendants may dissolve such attachment, or any part thereof, in any of the modes provided in the nine preceding sections. But the bond to dissolve such attachment shall be so conditioned as to apply only to a judgment recovered against such defendant alone or jointly.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 129a - Attaching Officer; Liability for Release of Attached Property

Section 129A. The officer shall not be liable for the release of personal property attached by him if he receives a certificate from the clerk of the court to which the writ is returnable, stating that a bond purporting to dissolve such attachment has been filed in the office of said clerk.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 130 - Dissolution of Attachment Upon Appointment of Receiver

Section 130. An attachment of property shall be dissolved by the appointment by any court of competent jurisdiction in the commonwealth of a receiver to take possession of such property if the complaint seeking the appointment of such receiver is filed in said court within four months after such attachment was made, unless the court at any time, in its discretion, continues such attachment. In such case the court may authorize the receiver to prosecute or defend the action upon which the attachment was made.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 131 - Discharge of Receiver

Section 131. If an attachment has been dissolved in the manner provided in the preceding section, the proceedings for the appointment of a receiver shall not thereafter be dismissed and the receiver discharged until all the assets which have come into his hands as receiver have been fully distributed or the claim upon which the attachment was made has been fully paid and discharged, unless the debtor, before such dismissal, deposits with the officer who made the attachment such amount of money as the court before which such receivership proceedings are pending, after notice to the attaching creditor and a hearing, finds reasonable for the protection of his claim in the action in which the attachment was made. Such money shall be held by the officer in place of the property held under the attachment before its dissolution and shall be disposed of as such property would have been disposed of had the attachment not been dissolved.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 132 - Dissolution of Attachment of Real Estate Upon Release by Plaintiff

Section 132. An attachment of real estate shall be dissolved by a release signed and acknowledged by the plaintiff or by his executor, administrator or attorney of record and recorded in the registry of deeds, or by a certificate from the clerk of court in which the action was pending that the attachment has been dissolved or that the action has finally been determined. Such a release describing sufficiently for identification any particular parcels of real estate shall dissolve an attachment in so far as it may affect the particular parcels described. The aforesaid releases, certificates of court and partial releases, shall be recorded in the registry of deeds in the county or district where a certified copy of the original return of attachments is filed or recorded as required by section sixty-three.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223 - Commencement of Actions, Service of Process › Section 133 - Persons Authorized; Approval

Section 133. A bond which is required to be given by a party to a civil action or proceeding may be executed by any person other than the party to the action or proceeding, and may be approved in the same manner as if executed by such party, if it appears to the magistrate who approves it that a there is good reason why it is not executed by him.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223a - Jurisdiction of Courts of the Commonwealth Over Persons in Other States and Countries › Section 1 - Person Defined

Section 1. As used in this chapter, ''person'' includes an individual, his executor, administrator or other personal representative, or a corporation, partnership, association or any other legal or commercial entity, whether or not a citizen or domiciliary of this commonwealth and whether or not organized under the laws of this commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223a - Jurisdiction of Courts of the Commonwealth Over Persons in Other States and Countries › Section 2 - Domicile, Organization or Place of Business for Personal Jurisdiction

Section 2. A court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a person domiciled in, organized under the laws of, or maintaining his or its principal place of business in, this commonwealth as to any cause of action.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223a - Jurisdiction of Courts of the Commonwealth Over Persons in Other States and Countries › Section 3 - Transactions or Conduct for Personal Jurisdiction

Section 3. A court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a person, who acts directly or by an agent, as to a cause of action in law or equity arising from the person's
(a) transacting any business in this commonwealth;
(b) contracting to supply services or things in this commonwealth;
(c) causing tortious injury by an act or omission in this commonwealth;
(d) causing tortious injury in this commonwealth by an act or omission outside this commonwealth if he regularly does or solicits business, or engages in any other persistent course of conduct, or derives substantial revenue from goods used or consumed or services rendered, in this commonwealth;
(e) having an interest in, using or possessing real property in this commonwealth;
(f) contracting to insure any person, property or risk located within this commonwealth at the time of contracting;
(g) maintaining a domicile in this commonwealth while a party to a personal or marital relationship out of which arises a claim for divorce, alimony, property settlement, parentage of a child, child support or child custody; or the commission of any act giving rise to such a claim; or
(h) having been subject to the exercise of personal jurisdiction of a court of the commonwealth which has resulted in an order of alimony, custody, child support or property settlement, notwithstanding the subsequent departure of one of the original parties from the commonwealth, if the action involves modification of such order or orders and the moving party resides in the commonwealth, or if the action involves enforcement of such order notwithstanding the domicile of the moving party.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223a - Jurisdiction of Courts of the Commonwealth Over Persons in Other States and Countries › Section 5 - Forum Non Conveniens

Section 5. When the court finds that in the interest of substantial justice the action should be heard in another forum, the court may stay or dismiss the action in whole or in part on any conditions that may be just.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223a - Jurisdiction of Courts of the Commonwealth Over Persons in Other States and Countries › Section 6 - Mode of Service Outside Commonwealth; Proof of Service

Section 6. (
a
) When the law of this commonwealth authorizes service outside this commonwealth, the service, when reasonably calculated to give actual notice, may be made:
(1) by personal delivery in the manner prescribed for service within this commonwealth;
(2) in the manner prescribed by the law of the place in which the service is made for service in that place in an action in any of its courts of general jurisdiction;
(3) by any form of mail addressed to the person to be served and requiring a signed receipt;
(4) as directed by the foreign authority in response to a letter rogatory; or
(5) as directed by the court.
(
b
) Proof of service outside this commonwealth may be made by affidavit of the individual who made the service or in the manner prescribed by the law of this commonwealth, the order pursuant to which the service is made, or the law of the place in which the service is made for proof of service in an action in any of its courts of general jurisdiction. When service is made by mail, proof of service shall include a receipt signed by the addressee or other evidence of personal delivery to the addressee satisfactory to the court.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223a - Jurisdiction of Courts of the Commonwealth Over Persons in Other States and Countries › Section 7 - Individual Making Service Outside Commonwealth

Section 7. Service outside this commonwealth may be made by an individual permitted to make service of process under the law of this commonwealth or under the law of the place in which the service is made or who is designated by a court of this commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223a - Jurisdiction of Courts of the Commonwealth Over Persons in Other States and Countries › Section 8 - Service Outside Commonwealth Upon Designated Individuals

Section 8. When the law of this commonwealth requires that in order to effect service one or more designated individuals be served, service outside this commonwealth under this chapter shall be made upon the designated individual or individuals.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223a - Jurisdiction of Courts of the Commonwealth Over Persons in Other States and Countries › Section 9 - Documents Issued in Proceedings Outside Commonwealth; Service Within Commonwealth

Section 9. (
a
) A court of this commonwealth may order service upon any person who is domiciled or can be found within this commonwealth of any document issued in connection with a proceeding in a tribunal outside this commonwealth. The order may be made upon application of any interested person or in response to a letter rogatory issued by a tribunal outside this commonwealth and shall direct the manner of service.
(
b
) Service in connection with a proceeding in a tribunal outside this commonwealth may be made within this commonwealth without an order of court.
(
c
) Service under this section shall not, of itself, require the recognition or enforcement of an order, judgment or decree rendered outside this commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223a - Jurisdiction of Courts of the Commonwealth Over Persons in Other States and Countries › Section 10 - Taking Depositions Outside Commonwealth; Issuance of Commissions or Letters Rogatory

Section 10. (
a
) A deposition to obtain testimony or documents or other things in an action pending in this commonwealth may be taken outside this commonwealth:
(1) On reasonable notice in writing to all parties, setting forth the time and place for taking the deposition, the name and address of each person to be examined, if known, and if not known, a general description sufficient to identify him or the particular class or group to which he belongs and the name or descriptive title of the person before whom the deposition will be taken. The deposition may be taken before a person authorized to administer oaths in the place in which the deposition is taken by the law thereof or by the law of this commonwealth or the United States.
(2) Before a person commissioned by the court. The person so commissioned shall have the power by virtue of his commission to administer any necessary oath.
(3) Pursuant to a letter rogatory issued by the court. A letter rogatory may be addressed ''To the Appropriate Authority in (here name the state or country).''
(4) In any manner before any person, at any time or place, or upon any notice stipulated by the parties. A person designated by the stipulation shall have the power by virtue of his designation to administer any necessary oath.
(
b
) A commission or a letter rogatory shall be issued after notice and application to the court, and on terms that are just and appropriate. It shall not be requisite to the issuance of a commission or a letter rogatory that the taking of the deposition in any other manner is impracticable or inconvenient, and both a commission and a letter rogatory may be issued in proper cases. Evidence obtained in a foreign country in response to a letter rogatory need not be excluded merely for the reason that it is not a verbatim transcript or that the testimony was not taken under oath or for any similar departure from the requirements for depositions taken within this commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 223a - Jurisdiction of Courts of the Commonwealth Over Persons in Other States and Countries › Section 11 - Discovery Within Commonwealth for Proceedings Outside Commonwealth; Legally-Protected Health Care Activity

Section 11. A court of this commonwealth may order a person who is domiciled or is found within this commonwealth to give his testimony or statement or to produce documents or other things for use in a proceeding in a tribunal outside this commonwealth. The order may be made upon the application of any interested person or in response to a letter rogatory and may prescribe the practice and procedure, which may be wholly or in part the practice and procedure of the tribunal outside this commonwealth, for taking the testimony or statement or producing the documents or other things. To the extent that the order does not prescribe otherwise, the practice and procedure shall be in accordance with that of the court of this commonwealth issuing the order. The order may direct that the testimony or statement be given, or document or other thing produced, before a person appointed by the court. The person appointed shall have power to administer any necessary oath.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary and except as required by federal law, a court of this commonwealth shall not order a person who is domiciled or found within this commonwealth to give testimony or statement or produce documents or other things for use in connection with any proceeding in a tribunal outside the commonwealth concerning legally-protected health care activity, as defined in section 11I1/2 of chapter 12.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 224 - Arrest on Mesne Process and Supplementary Proceedings in Civil Actions › Section 1 - Definitions

Section 1. The word ''court'', in this chapter, shall include a justice of such court, and a special justice thereof when exercising the functions of a justice.
The words ''person'', ''defendant'', ''party'', and ''debtor'', in this chapter shall include a natural person, a corporation, a trust, a society, a partnership, an incorporated and an unincorporated association and any other legal entity.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 224 - Arrest on Mesne Process and Supplementary Proceedings in Civil Actions › Section 7 - Surrender of Principal on Recognizance by Surety; New Recognizance

Section 7. Whoever recognizes as surety for another as provided in this chapter may at any time before breach of the recognizance surrender his principal and exonerate himself from further liability, in the manner provided for surrender by bail, and all proceedings on such surrender shall be the same as provided in the case of bail. If a debtor arrested on execution is surrendered by his surety, he may recognize anew for his appearance at the time, place and upon the conditions expressed in the former recognizance.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 224 - Arrest on Mesne Process and Supplementary Proceedings in Civil Actions › Section 8 - Recognizances and Bonds; Breach; Remedies

Section 8. If the condition of a recognizance or bond taken under this chapter is broken, the creditor may, within one year after such breach, commence an action thereon; and judgment shall be entered for the amount of the penalty, but execution shall issue for so much thereof only as may be justly and equitably due. Such actions in favor of the commonwealth shall be brought in the court in which the original judgment was rendered.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 224 - Arrest on Mesne Process and Supplementary Proceedings in Civil Actions › Section 12 - Support in Jail; Discharge

Section 12. If the defendant or debtor while confined in jail on execution claims support as a poor person, the jailer shall furnish his support at the rate of one dollar and seventy-five cents a week, to be paid by the plaintiff or creditor, who in such case shall, if required by the jailer, either from time to time advance the money necessary for the support of the prisoner or give the jailer satisfactory security therefor. If the plaintiff or creditor neglects to do so for twenty-four hours after demand upon him, his attorney or the committing officer, the jailer shall discharge the prisoner.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 224 - Arrest on Mesne Process and Supplementary Proceedings in Civil Actions › Section 14 - Supplementary Process; Application; Corporations and Certain Trusts; Service; Proceedings

Section 14. A judgment creditor or a person in his behalf may file in court an application for supplementary process under this chapter. Upon the filing of such an application, a summons may issue, requiring the judgment debtor to appear at a time and place named therein and submit to an examination relative to his or its property and ability to pay. Such summons may be served by an officer qualified to serve civil process and shall be served at least seven days before the return day thereof. If the debtor is a natural person, service shall be made by delivery in hand or by leaving a copy at the debtor's last and usual place of abode. If the debtor is a corporation, service shall be made by delivery in hand to, or by leaving a copy at a business office of, the president, treasurer, clerk, resident agent appointed pursuant to chapter 5 of chapter 156D, cashier, secretary, agent or other officer in charge of its business, or, if no such officer is found within the county, any member of the corporation. If the debtor is a trust with transferable shares, service shall be made in the same manner on any trustee. If due service is not made, the court may order further notice. A judgment debtor who has been arrested on execution, or a person in his behalf, may file such an application and cause service to be made upon the judgment creditor or his attorney of record in the action, in a similar manner, requiring the judgment creditor to appear at such examination; and upon failure of the judgment creditor to appear personally or by attorney the proceedings under this section may be dismissed. The failure of a judgment debtor personally to appear without reasonable excuse upon such summons, or at an examination otherwise appointed, or to submit to the examination as provided in section fifteen, shall constitute a contempt of court; and if the debtor is a corporation or a trust with transferable shares, the court shall treat the officer, trustee or agent served as the contemnor. Supplementary proceedings shall be in order for examination at the return day and hour set forth in the summons or further notice, but may by order of court for good cause shown be continued from time to time for examination, and may be brought up for further proceedings at such time or times, and in such manner as the court by general or special rule or order may direct. The death of the judgment creditor shall not affect supplementary proceedings.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 224 - Arrest on Mesne Process and Supplementary Proceedings in Civil Actions › Section 15 - Judgment Debtor; Examination

Section 15. The judgment debtor, if appearing, shall be examined on oath as to his or its property and ability to pay; provided, however, if the debtor is a corporation the person examined shall be its president, treasurer, cashier or other officer or agent in charge of the payment of debts, or if the debtor is a trust with transferable shares the person examined shall be any trustee or agent in charge of payment of debts; and such examination, if in writing, shall be signed and sworn to by the debtor if a natural person, or by the officer, trustee or agent in charge of payment of debts appearing in its behalf, if a corporation or trust with transferable shares, and filed with the court. Either party may introduce additional evidence, and if the debtor fails to appear at the examination and is a natural person, the examination may proceed and orders may be made in such debtor's absence. The examination may be oral or in writing, in the discretion of the court. The execution, or a certified copy thereof, shall be sufficient proof of the judgment.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 224 - Arrest on Mesne Process and Supplementary Proceedings in Civil Actions › Section 17 - Redemption of Property Transferred; Refusal or Acceptance of Transfer by Creditor

Section 17. The debtor may redeem real property within one year, and personal property within sixty days, after the date of any transfer, assignment or conveyance made under the provisions of section sixteen upon payment of the judgment and costs and the necessary expense actually paid by the creditor for the care or custody of such property. If such property is not redeemed it shall be sold forthwith at public auction, unless in the transfer, conveyance or assignment thereof it was otherwise provided, and the proceeds, after deducting the expenses of such care, custody and sale, shall be applied to the payment of said judgment and costs, and the excess, if any, remaining after such payments, shall be paid to the debtor; or the creditor may take said property at a valuation to be fixed by the debtor in the transfer, assignment or conveyance and apply such amount in payment as aforesaid.
The creditor may refuse to accept a transfer, assignment or conveyance, and his refusal thereof shall not impair his right to have his execution satisfied in whole or in part by a levy on other property in the manner provided by law. If, after such transfer, assignment or conveyance has been made and before the sale of the property conveyed thereby, the execution is satisfied in full by levy or otherwise, the court shall order that the creditor reconvey said property to the debtor upon such terms or conditions as it may determine and may enforce such order by process for contempt.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 224 - Arrest on Mesne Process and Supplementary Proceedings in Civil Actions › Section 18 - Contempt; Procedure; Effect; Appeal

Section 18. The court may issue warrants for arrest and other processes to secure the attendance of debtors or creditors to answer for any contempt under this chapter. The term debtor, as used in this section shall mean, if the debtor is a corporation or a trust with transferable shares, the contemnor as defined in section fourteen or section sixteen. An arrest shall not be made after sunset unless specially authorized in the warrant for cause. Contempt of court under this chapter shall be punished by a fine of not more than twenty dollars or by imprisonment in the common jail for not more than thirty days. A debtor or creditor in custody, charged with contempt, shall be entitled to a speedy hearing therefor, and the officer having him in custody shall remain in attendance until excused by the court. A debtor or creditor in custody, charged with contempt, may be released by the court and the hearing on the alleged contempt may be continued.
A debtor arrested on a capias after court has adjourned may be lodged with the keeper of the lock-up in the city or town in which he is arrested, or lodged with the keeper of the common jail. Said keeper shall receive the debtor from the arresting officer and hold the debtor until the next sitting of the court issuing the capias, at which time the officer shall call for the debtor and take him before the court. The debtor shall be allowed a reasonable time to procure sureties for his recognizance to appear before the court issuing the capias at the next sitting of court. A master in chancery may accept his recognizance to the creditor with surety or sureties in a sum not less than the judgment, conditioned that he will appear before the court at its next sitting and from time to time until the proceedings are concluded. The provision for the arrest of a debtor after court has adjourned shall not apply to female debtors.
A sentence for contempt shall not end the proceedings, nor any order made therein, and future violations of the order upon which the sentence was founded, or any other order, may likewise be dealt with as for contempt. The court shall retain jurisdiction of supplementary proceedings until an order shall be made expressly dismissing them. If the proceedings are dismissed, the creditor shall not, within one year after the date of such dismissal, file a new application against the same debtor upon the same judgment or a judgment including the same cause of action, unless the court otherwise orders. There shall be no appeal from any judgment, order or sentence under the provisions of this chapter, except as provided in section nineteen.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 224 - Arrest on Mesne Process and Supplementary Proceedings in Civil Actions › Section 20 - Transfer of Property Pending Examination; Commitment for Contempt; Exceptions

Section 20. If at the examination of the debtor it appears that after service of supplementary process, the debtor has made a payment of money or a conveyance, assignment or transfer of property which is not exempt from being taken on execution, with intent to prevent it from being transferred or paid to the creditor or applied to the satisfaction of the judgment, and the court so certifies, the debtor or, in the case of a corporation or trust with transferable shares, its officer, trustee or agent as provided in section sixteen, may in the discretion of the court be committed as for a contempt. The payment by the debtor of a debt for necessaries, or a debt due on any judgment on which he or it has previously been summoned to appear in supplementary proceedings, or a reasonable fee for counsel relative to the proceedings, shall not render him or it liable for contempt.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 224 - Arrest on Mesne Process and Supplementary Proceedings in Civil Actions › Section 21 - Supplementary Proceedings; Dismissal; Discharge of Debtor

Section 21. Supplementary proceedings shall be dismissed, and if the debtor or, if a corporation or trust with transferable shares, its officer, trustee or agent, has been imprisoned, he or it shall be discharged from custody, on payment in full to the creditor or his attorney of the amount due on the judgment, with all the costs of the proceedings, or, unless the judgment is upon a bond or recognizance given under the provisions of this chapter, on the giving to the creditor or his attorney of a bond, payable to the creditor, with sufficient surety or sureties, approved by the creditor, his attorney or the court, conditioned that the debtor shall pay to the creditor the amount due on the judgment, with all the costs of the proceedings, within sixty days after the date of giving such bond or within such longer time as the court may allow.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 224 - Arrest on Mesne Process and Supplementary Proceedings in Civil Actions › Section 22 - Habeas Corpus

Section 22. The court may issue a writ of habeas corpus to bring before it for examination or disposition or for the purpose of giving bond, a defendant or debtor, or, in the case of a corporation or trust with transferable shares, its officer, trustee or agent who has been imprisoned under the provisions of this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 224 - Arrest on Mesne Process and Supplementary Proceedings in Civil Actions › Section 24 - Debtors of Commonwealth; Discharge

Section 24. If a debtor committed to prison on a warrant of distress in favor of the commonwealth is unable to pay the debt for which he is imprisoned, he shall be entitled to discharge in like manner as a debtor before a court on supplementary proceedings; and the laws relative to such proceedings so far as applicable shall apply, except as hereinafter provided.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 224 - Arrest on Mesne Process and Supplementary Proceedings in Civil Actions › Section 25 - Debtors of Commonwealth; Examination

Section 25. If he represents to the jailer that he desires to be examined relative to his property and ability to pay, the jailer shall notify the proper court. The court shall thereupon appoint a time and place for the examination of the debtor and notify the district attorney for the district by a notice, which shall be served by giving to him personally, or by leaving at his usual place of abode, thirty days at least before the time appointed for the examination, an attested copy thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 224 - Arrest on Mesne Process and Supplementary Proceedings in Civil Actions › Section 26 - Debtors of Commonwealth; Appointment of Special Counsel

Section 26. If the district attorney does not reside in the town appointed for or is unable to attend the examination, he may appoint counsel in his stead. For such attendance, suitable allowance shall be made by the superior court for the county.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 224 - Arrest on Mesne Process and Supplementary Proceedings in Civil Actions › Section 28 - Persons Committed for Non-Payment of Tax; Manner of Discharge

Section 28. A person who has been committed to jail for the non-payment of a tax, if since his commitment he has not had any property, real or personal, with which he could have paid the tax, may be discharged at any time in the manner provided by section one hundred and forty-six of chapter one hundred and twenty-seven, for the discharge of poor prisoners who have been confined for three months for a fine.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title II - Actions and Proceedings Therein › Chapter 224 - Arrest on Mesne Process and Supplementary Proceedings in Civil Actions › Section 29 - Insolvency or Bankruptcy; Effect

Section 29. If a person arrested on execution becomes an insolvent debtor under the laws of this commonwealth or a bankrupt under the laws of the United States, he shall be discharged upon his application to a district court in the county where the arrest was made, after such notice as the court shall order.