Massachusetts Statutes

Section 63. No attachment of land or of any leasehold estate shall be valid against a subsequent attaching creditor, or against a subsequent purchaser in good faith and for value, unless the officer deposits a certified copy of the writ of attachment and so much of his return the…

Section 64. The officer who makes such attachment shall deposit such copy in the registry of deeds.

Section 65. The register of deeds shall note on such copy the day, hour and minute of its receipt, and shall record it in his office. He shall also enter in the indexes provided for in chapter thirty-six the name or names of each defendant whose land is attached as appears in sai…

Section 66. If the copy of the writ is deposited, as aforesaid, within three days after the day when the attachment was made the attachment shall take effect from the time it was made, otherwise, from the time when the copy is so deposited; but attachments of land, and of leaseho…

Section 67. If an attachment on mesne process is made of land, or of a right or interest therein, which has been fraudulently conveyed by the debtor to a third person, or which has been purchased by the debtor, or the purchase money of which has been directly or indirectly paid b…

Section 68. The register in such case, in addition to the names of the parties to the action which he is required to enter as provided in section sixty-five, shall also enter in his docket of attachments the names of the persons in whom the record or legal title stands, as return…

Section 69. Registers of deeds shall perform the same duties relative to the filing and entering of copies of writs and other papers in actions commenced in the courts of the United States which affect the title to land by attachment or otherwise as are required relative to the f…

Section 7. An action against a town or person to recover for injury or damage received by reason of a defect, want of repair or of an insufficient railing in or upon a public way shall be brought in the county where said town is situated or in the county where the plaintiff lives…

Section 70. An attachment of land which is subject to a mortgage or other encumbrance shall, if the mortgage is redeemed or the encumbrance is removed before the levy of the execution, hold the land discharged of the mortgage or encumbrance, and execution may be levied in the sam…

Section 71. Shares of stock shall not be attached in a civil action in which only money damages are sought.

Section 72. If goods are delivered to a carrier or other bailee by the owner or by a person whose act in conveying title to a purchaser in good faith for value would bind the owner and a negotiable document of title is issued for them, they cannot thereafter, while in the possess…

Section 73. Except as provided in the preceding section, property in the possession of a carrier or warehouseman may be attached by trustee process or otherwise; but if the bill of lading or receipt, though non-negotiable, has been transferred, and the carrier or warehouseman not…

Section 74. Personal property of a debtor which is subject to a mortgage, pledge or lien, and of which he has the right of redemption, or personal property sold under a contract of conditional sale reserving title in the vendor, may be attached and held as if it were unencumbered…

Section 75. Within a reasonable time after such property has been attached, or, in the case of property subject to a recorded mortgage or covered by a financing statement filed pursuant to the provisions of chapter one hundred and six, within a reasonable time after written notic…

Section 76. If the mortgagee, pledgee, lienor or conditional vendor, or his assigns, demands and receives more than the amount due to him, he shall be liable to the attaching creditor for the excess, with interest thereon at the rate of twelve per cent a year.

Section 77. If property which has been attached and redeemed by the attaching creditor, as aforesaid, is sold on mesne process or on execution, the proceeds thereof, after deducting the charges of the sale, shall be first applied to repay to the attaching creditor the amount so p…

Section 78. If the attaching creditor, after having redeemed the property, does not recover judgment, he may nevertheless hold the property until the debtor repays to him the amount or amounts which he paid for the redemption, or as much thereof as the debtor would have been obli…

Section 79. Personal property upon which a mortgage or lien is claimed, or which is claimed to have been sold under a contract of conditional sale reserving title in the vendor, may be attached as if unencumbered; and the mortgagee, pledgee, lienor or conditional vendor, or his a…

Section 8. Transitory actions, except those mentioned in the preceding section, to which a corporation, other than a county or the city of Boston, is a party, may be brought as follows: (1) If both parties are cities, towns or parishes, in the county where either party is situate…

Section 80. If, upon such examination, or, upon the verdict of a jury as provided in section eighty-one, it appears that the mortgage, pledge, lien or contract of conditional sale is valid, the court, having first ascertained the amount justly due upon it, may direct the attachin…

Section 81. If the attaching creditor denies the validity of the mortgage, pledge, lien or contract of conditional sale, and moves that its validity be tried by jury, the court shall order such trial upon an issue which shall be framed under its direction. If, upon such examinati…

Section 82. When the creditor has paid to the mortgagee, pledgee, lienor or conditional vendor, or his assigns, the amount ordered by the court, he may retain out of the proceeds of the property attached, when sold, the amount so paid with interest, and the balance shall be appli…

Section 83. If the attaching creditor, after having paid the amount ordered by the court, does not recover judgment, he may nevertheless hold the property until the debtor has repaid with interest the amount so paid.

Section 83A. Sections seventy-four to eighty-three, inclusive, shall not apply to security interests in personal property which are recordable under section nine—four hundred and one (1)(b) of chapter one hundred and six.

Section 84. If in a civil action the defendant makes a motion to dismiss the action for insufficient service of process, the court may dismiss the action without prejudice or may quash the process and allow the issuance and service of new process in accordance with the applicable…

Section 86A. Upon motion of the plaintiff at any time after entry of a judgment in his favor in the supreme judicial court, superior court, housing court of the city of Boston, western division of the housing court department, the northeastern division of the housing court depart…

Section 87. Personal property which has been attached on one or more writs may, if the debtor and all the attaching creditors consent in writing, subject to sections seventy-four to eighty-three, inclusive, be sold by the attaching officer in the manner provided by law for sellin…

Section 88. If an attachment is made of animals or of goods which are liable to perish, waste or greatly decrease in value by keeping, or which cannot be kept without great and disproportionate expense, and the parties do not consent to a sale thereof as before provided, the prop…

Section 89. Upon such application, the attaching officer shall give notice to all the other parties or their attorneys, prepare a schedule of the goods and cause three disinterested persons acquainted with the nature and value of such goods to be appointed and sworn before a magi…

Section 8A. Transitory actions by or against the subscribers to a reciprocal or inter-insurance exchange defined in section ninety-four A of chapter one hundred and seventy-five and authorized to transact business in the commonwealth under said chapter may be brought as provided …

Section 9. An action by or against the city of Boston, except actions mentioned in section seven and actions by the collector of said city under sections thirty-five and thirty-six of chapter sixty, may be brought in Suffolk, Essex, Middlesex or Norfolk county, or in the county i…

Section 90. If the defendant is not within the commonwealth and has no attorney therein, the notice in writing shall be left at his last and usual place of abode, if any, in the commonwealth; otherwise, it shall be delivered to, or left at the dwelling house or place of business …

Section 91. One appraiser shall be appointed by the creditor or creditors in the several actions, one by the debtor or debtors, and one by the officer; and if the debtors or creditors, respectively, neglect to appoint such appraiser, or do not agree in the nomination, the officer…

Section 92. The appraisers shall examine the attached property and, if in their opinion it, or a part thereof, is liable to perish or waste or to greatly decrease in value by keeping or cannot be kept without great and disproportionate expense, they shall appraise the value there…

Section 93. The property so appraised shall, if he requires it, be delivered to the debtor upon his depositing with the attaching officer the appraised value thereof in money, or upon giving bond to the officer in a sufficient sum, with two sufficient sureties, conditioned to pay…

Section 94. The officer who takes such bond shall return it with the writ on which the first attachment is made in like manner as bail bonds are returned, with a certificate of his doings therein; and if the bond is forfeited, any of the attaching creditors may bring an action th…

Section 95. If judgment is rendered for the defendants in an action on such bond, executions for the costs shall be issued against the attaching creditors by whom the action was brought.

Section 97. The court may, upon a hearing, determine the rights of the several attaching creditors and award a separate execution for the amount due or payable to each, to be served and levied to his own use in the manner provided when a judgment is rendered on an administration …

Section 98. No judgment or execution shall be awarded for the use of a creditor without reserving as much as may be due upon any prior attachment, whether the creditor in such prior action is or is not one of those by whom the action on the bond is brought.

Section 99. A creditor who is entitled to the benefit of the bond, and who has not joined in bringing the action thereon may, upon motion at any time before final judgment, intervene in the action upon terms.

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 an…

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…

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…

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.

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 common…

Section 4. When the exercise of personal jurisdiction is authorized by this chapter, service may be made outside this commonwealth.