Eviction Mistakes: Untimely Filing of Court Documents

The Massachusetts Appeals Court issued an important decision this week on eviction mistakes arising from the untimely filing of court documents. The full decision is below.

Evictions 101

Evictions, known in Massachusetts as “summary process” cases, are done to obtain possession of a rental property from tenants. The intended goal of these cases are to be “just, speedy, and inexpensive.”

With this in mind, evictions move at a much faster pace than most other cases. Evictions can end up in trial less than a month after being filed in court.

Eviction Mistakes: Not Timely Filing Court Documents

A critical part of eviction cases are the deadlines for filing documents. Court filings for eviction cases come with strict deadlines, and the failure to meet these deadlines can be fatal to one’s case.

In this case, the defendant wished to appeal an eviction decision, and filed the notice of appeal after the ten-day deadline. Compared to other types of cases, eviction cases come with an incredibly tight deadline, with little room for error if it is missed.

As this decision notes, case law holds that a court has no jurisdiction to hear an eviction appeal if one is filed after this deadline. Although the defendant’s attorney claimed he never received a written notice of the decision, and therefore did not know that the appeal deadline had begun, the Appeals Court nonetheless still dismissed the appeal.

Practical Implications

Years ago, I won an appeal on a nearly similar issue. These decisions emphasize a critical mistake to avoid with evictions: the importance of timely filing court papers. The failure to do so can be highly problematic in such a matter.

Like the Appeals Court, I am very sympathetic to the defendant in this case. Things do get lost in the mail, especially now, which can be a real problem for those involved in an eviction case (or other legal matter).

An important way to avoid this is to keep an eye on the online court docket for an eviction case. This way, if something is lost in the mail, you can still learn of the case status and when a decision is issued.

Conclusion

If you need assistance with a landlord-tenant matter, contact me for a consultation.

Mondi