How to File a Lawsuit in Massachusetts

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1Analyzing Your Claim

2Drafting Your Complaint

3Filing Your Complaint

4Proceeding with Your Lawsuit

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Sometimes if you have a dispute with a company or another person, the only way to resolve it is to take them to court. Although you should try to use a lawsuit only as a last resort after you've exhausted all other options and still haven't gotten what you believe you deserve, once you decide to file the state of Massachusetts has many resources if you want to file a suit yourself. If your claims are complex or if you anticipate you'll face a significant challenge from the other side, you probably want to consider consulting an attorney.

Steps

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Analyzing Your Claim

1. 
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   Attempt to resolve your dispute out of court. Before you begin the process of filing a lawsuit, try to use other resources to resolve the dispute and forego the time and expense of trial.

   • If conversations with the other side aren't accomplishing anything, consider writing a formal demand letter to the person and giving them a deadline to reach a compromise with you before you file suit.
   • You also might consider using mediation or another form of alternate dispute resolution. These processes use a neutral third party to assist you and the other person in coming to a mutually beneficial agreement to end your dispute.
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   Define the type of case you have. Different Massachusetts courts handle different types of cases, so the subject matter of your case may determine what type of court you need.

   • Once you decide what kind of case you have, you can determine which court will hear your case. For example, Massachusetts has separate family courts that hear family law cases, so if you are filing a lawsuit for divorce or custody, you would need to file your lawsuit in a family court.
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   Estimate your chances of winning. Before you file your lawsuit, analyze your claim and make an honest assessment of whether all that time and effort will be worth it in the end.

   • Having a trial might provide you with a sense of closure, but if it seems unlikely that you would get any significant amount of money because the person you want to sue is broke, it might not be worth the expense of going through the court process.
   • Similarly, if you have very little evidence – such that the case essentially breaks down to "he said; she said" – you might not benefit from going through the trial process.
4. 
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   Decide which court you need to use. To legally hear your case, the court must have both subject matter and personal jurisdiction.

   • Subject matter jurisdiction extends not just to the type of case, but also the amount of damages you're seeking. If you're suing for more than $25,000 in Massachusetts, you must sue in Superior Court. The District Court has jurisdiction for all claims seeking less than $25,000. If your claim is for less than $7,000, you're eligible to file in small claims, which is a special session of the District Court.
   • Personal jurisdiction deals with whether the court has the power to order the person you're suing to do something or to pay you money. For that to happen, the person you're suing must have sufficient connection to the county where that court is located. Typically, this means you would file your lawsuit either in the county where the person you're suing lives, or in the county where the event that gave rise to your lawsuit took place.
5. 
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   Figure out the appropriate venue for your claim. Not only must you find the court with jurisdiction, but it must also be the correct location.

   • Venue typically deals with the specific geographic location of the court that will hear your lawsuit. Venue may be legally improper even if the court has correct subject matter and personal jurisdiction. Determining correct venue can be a complicated process, so you might consider consulting an attorney if you're unsure on this score.
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   Contact the office of the clerk of court. Once you've figured out the precise court where you should file your lawsuit, contact the clerk's office and find out if that court has any particular rules or procedures that differ from those in other areas.

   • You can use the Courthouse Locator of the Massachusetts Court System, available at http://www.mass.gov/courts/court-info/courthouses/, to find the courthouse you need and the contact information for the office of the clerk of that court.
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   Consider consulting an attorney. If your case seems complex, or if you're confused about any of the rules of jurisdiction and procedure, find someone willing to answer your questions or help guide you through the process.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Drafting Your Complaint

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   Look for forms. The Massachusetts courts provide basic forms for complaints. If you can't find one that suits your case, you also can look for samples online of other complaints that have been filed in similar cases.

   • You also can read Rules 8 through 15 of the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure, which set forth the precise requirements for a legal complaint and the formalities you must follow.
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   Format your caption. The caption will be used for all documents filed in your case to identify the case by number and names of parties.

   • The caption includes the name of the court, the county, the title of the action, the docket number of the case, and the names of the parties.
   • Since your complaint is the first document filed to initiate the lawsuit, you won't have a docket number yet. When you file your complaint, the clerk will assign a docket number.
3. 
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   Identify the parties to the lawsuit. Begin your complaint by stating your name and the names of the people or companies you are suing.

   • Give the names of each party in a separate, numbered paragraph. Each name should be followed by the address of the individual's residence or the company's place of business.
4. 
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   Write the facts of the incident that gave rise to your lawsuit. List the facts in numbered paragraphs, one fact per paragraph, typically in chronological order.

   • The Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure state that this list of facts should be simple and concise. Treat this portion of your complaint as an outline of the facts rather than a complete story.
   • Only include the facts that have relevance to your claim. For example, if you were involved in a car wreck and you are suing the driver of the other car, the color of the sweater that person was wearing when they were driving would be completely irrelevant to your claim that they drove negligently and are responsible for your damages.
   • You don't need to explain why the facts you've listed are important, or provide evidence that they are true.
5. 
   5
   Describe your claims. In numbered paragraphs, explain why you believe the person or business you're suing owes you money because of the facts you related.

   • This section of your complaint amounts to a legal analysis of the facts you set forth. Begin by identifying the type of claim, and then go through each element of the claim – again, in numbered paragraphs, just as you did with the facts.
   • You don't have to explain the elements or go into any legal theory, you only have to point to the facts that satisfy each element of the claim.
   • For example, if were in a car accident and you are suing the other driver for negligence, your claim would have sections addressing each element of negligence: the legal duty of the other driver, the facts that indicate that driver was negligence and breached that legal duty, and the damages you incurred as a result of that driver's negligence.
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   Request relief from the court. In the last paragraph of your complaint, make a general request to the court to grant appropriate relief for the claims you listed.

   • In this section, you must state what you want the court to give you if you win. Your relief could include asking the court for an order known as an injunction that either stops the person you're suing from doing something or requires them to start doing something.
   • Your relief also may include the payment of monetary damages, including actual damages or in some cases punitive damages.
   • You also should include a sentence requesting the court to award any other relief it deems just under the circumstances.
7. 
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   Demand a jury. If the type of lawsuit you're filing allows you to have a trial by jury, you should demand one at this point in your complaint.

   • Massachusetts court rules require you to demand a jury trial within a brief period of time or you've essentially waived your right to a jury. To avoid waiving your right, include a jury demand at the end of your complaint if you think you might want a jury trial.
8. 
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   Format your signature block. Write a statement certifying that everything in the complaint is true and correct to the best of your knowledge, and then leave yourself room to sign.

   • Type your name under the line or space for your signature, and include your mailing address below that. You should type this in a block so it looks just like it would if you wrote it on an envelope to mail. Below your address, include your phone number, email address, and any other appropriate contact information.
9. 
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   Add a certificate of service. You must have the complaint legally served on the person you're suing so they have notice of the lawsuit against them.

   • The certificate of service is your promise to the court to serve the person using a particular method.
10. 
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    Draft any other forms required by the court. If the clerk mentioned other forms such as a cover sheet that you need to file along with your motion, fill those out before you head over to the clerk's office.
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Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Filing Your Complaint

1. 
   1
   Sign your complaint. Once you've finished drafting your complaint, print it out and sign it.

   • If the rules require your complaint to be verified, that means you have to sign it in front of a notary public. The notary serves as a witness to authenticate your signature.
   • The clerk of court will be able to tell you if your complaint must be verified prior to filing.
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   Make copies of all your paperwork. You'll need at least one copy of the paperwork for your files and one for each person or businesses you're suing – the clerk will keep the originals when you file.
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   File your complaint with the clerk of court. Take your complaint and copies to the clerk's office to have them stamped and filed with the court.

   • You must pay filing fees to have your complaint filed and initiate your lawsuit. Filing fees vary depending on the court where you're filing your lawsuit and the county where that court is located, but usually amount to around $200 to file a complaint.
   • If you can't afford to pay the filing fees, you can file an indigency form. You must provide details about your financial situation and whether you're receiving any form of public assistance. If you meet the requirements, the state will pay your fees for you.
4. 
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   Have your complaint served on the other side. After you file your complaint, you must serve it on the people or business you're suing so they have notice of the lawsuit against them.

   • When you file your complaint, the clerk will issue a summons. The summons and a copy of your complaint must be served on the person you're suing. Typically this is accomplished by hiring a sheriff's deputy or constable to hand-deliver the papers to the person.
   • You also can request the clerk appoint a special process server to deliver the papers. This would be any person over the age of 18 who isn't personally involved in your case.
5. 
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   Wait for an answer from the other side. Once you file your complaint, the person or business you sued has 20 days to respond with an answer or any counterclaims.
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Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Proceeding with Your Lawsuit

1. 
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   File your own answer to any counterclaims. If the other side alleges any counterclaims against you, Massachusetts gives you 20 days to file your own answer to those counterclaims.
2. 
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   Attend the case management conference. After the other side has answered your complaint, the court may schedule a case management conference.

   • The case management conference is an opportunity to get together with the judge or clerk and work together to resolve any pre-trial issues that arise, discuss possible settlement, or establish deadlines and hearings on other matters that come up.
3. 
   3
   Participate in written discovery. Respond to any written questions and requests, and produce your own for the other side.

   • Both sides use the discovery process to exchange information. The process helps you prepare for trial and decide what documents need to be filed with the court.
   • Written discovery may include interrogatories, which are questions the other side asks that you're required to answer, and requests for production, in which the other side asks you to send copies of particular documents or types of documents.
4. 
   4
   Depose any witnesses. If the other side intends to call witnesses, you can interview them before trial and ask them questions under oath.

   • A deposition is a formal interview in which all questions and answers are documented by a court reporter. The court reporter later produced a transcript for your records. The transcript may come in handy if you file any motions before trial.
   • Additionally, if the witness says something different on the stand at trial than she said in the deposition, you can use the official transcript of her deposition to prove that her testimony is untrustworthy or her recollection is unreliable.
5. 
   5
   Attend mediation. You should consider using a mediator or other alternate dispute resolution to resolve your dispute before trial.

   • Aside from independent mediation attempts, the court may schedule a pre-trial conference, in which the judge will lead a settlement discussion.
   • Keep in mind that most civil cases are settled before trial. Have an open mind and be willing to compromise, understanding that trials are stressful and take a lot of time and effort.
6. 
   6
   Prepare for trial. If you complete discovery and cannot come to an agreement on a settlement of your claims, you should prepare for the formal trial.

   • Typically the judge will set a trial date during the pre-trial conference.
   • Have all your documents organized and ready to go, and make sure any witnesses you plan to call are available on your court date and know where to go.
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