Small Claims Court Rules and Procedures (including October 2009 and August 2010 Updates)

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MLRI

New Small Claims Court Rules went into effect in October 2009.  According to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, these "amendments address many of the issues identified by the Working Group in collection cases, and four in particular: increased certainty of service, insufficiently detailed claims, increased scrutiny of default judgments, and notice to the court when a judgment is paid."  (SJC Press Release)

Effective August 2010, the limit for small claims cases was raised to $7,000 (not including statutory damages or attorneys fees).  The amount of the filing fees was also amended at that time.

Additional Resources About Small Claims