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 defences that may be raised by motion — including misnomer, a prior pending action, and improper amount of damages — with seven of them waived if omitted.

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