Published on:

SJC Announces New Procedural Amount Requirements

SJC Announces New Procedural Amount Requirements
SJC announces new procedural amount requirements
The Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest appelate court in Massachusetts.  For many years it has declared that the Municipal Courts and District Courts in Massachusetts were only allowed to hear cases with values not exceeding $ 25,000.
It recently decided that for now on, the Municipal Courts and District Courts shall be allowed to hear cases with values not expected to exceed $ 50,000.  The Superior Court in turn will now will have fewer cases to hear since it no longer will hear cases valued at less than $ 50,000.  This will result in many more cases being filed in the District Courts and Municipal Courts, and likely will further clog these already busy courts.  This will likely in turn lessen the number of cases that will be filed in the Superior Courts.
The Municipal and District Courts will now need more judges and jurors in order to handle the increased case flow.
Nearly all personal injury cases, including car accidents and slips and falls are filed in District Courts, Municipal Courts and Superior Courts.  These courts also handle business disputes, and other litigation matters, but personal injury cases constitute a huge number of the cases filed in these courts.  Time will tell on how this will all play out for the courts, litigants, and lawyers.  This change will not impact workers’ compensation cases which are heard exclusively at the Department of Industrial Accidents.  Nor will this change impact federal court cases.
 

Raving Fans
★★★★★
"I find Christopher Earley to be one of the most professional and compassionate attorneys I have ever met. After having a personal injury, what you need is expertise, experience, and especially compassion and kindness. All of these things define Christopher Earley. I highly recommend Christopher Earley and The Earley Law Group Injury Lawyers to anyone that needs a personal injury attorney!" Susan N.
★★★★★
"Great help with my case. Responses are fast and make me feel very well represented. This man is the guy to call." Hugh R.
★★★★★
"Chris helped me with an extremely difficult time in my life due to a car accident. Even after the settlement, he continued to advocate for me when I was receiving collections notices that were not valid. You can feel assured he will do a great job." Angela C.
Contact Information