Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XX Chapter 137
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 137, § 6 (2026)

Fact of non-ownership of securities at time of contract of sale; prima facie evidence of intent not to receive or deliver

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 6. In a proceeding under either of the two preceding sections, if the person so employed does not make an actual transaction relieving him from liability under section four, the fact that the seller or the person employing another to sell for his account did not own the securities or commodities at the time of the contract of sale or of the giving of the order to sell, and the fact that settlements were made without completion of the purchase or sale of the securities and commodities bought or sold or ordered to be bought or sold, shall each be prima facie evidence that within the meaning of section four there was an intention that there should be no actual purchase or sale, and that there was reasonable cause to believe that said intention existed; and the parties liable to an action under said section shall be jointly and severally liable.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 1926–1926 · leading case: Ryan v. Whitney, 153 N.E. 449 (Mass. 1926).
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Ryan v. Whitney, 153 N.E. 449 (Mass. 1926). “In the instant case the fact that no securities passed in settlement between the plaintiff and defendants, if it had been material, would have no prima facie force as *224 proof of intent and cause to believe; since such force is given to such facts, when material, only by G. L.…”
Marshall v. Williston, 152 N.E. 227 (Mass. 1926). “137, §§ 4-6, the plaintiff on the whole case must prove that he employed the defendants on a margin contract to buy or sell for his account securities, intending that there should be no actual purchase or sale by the defendants; as also that the defendants had reasonable cause…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.