Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 185, § 36 (2026)

Transactions dealing with land after filing of complaint; record of disposition of case

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 36. After the filing of a complaint and before registration, the land therein described may be dealt with, and instruments relating thereto shall be recorded in the same manner, as if no such complaint had been filed; but all instruments left for record which relate to such land shall be indexed in the usual manner in the registry indexes and in the index of complaints. As soon as a complaint is disposed of, the recorder shall make a memorandum stating the disposition of the case, and shall send the same to the register of deeds for the proper district or districts, who shall record and index it with the records of deeds and in the index of complaints. If a judgment of registration of title is entered the land included in the judgment shall, when the judgment is transcribed as provided in section forty-eight, become registered land, and thereafter no deeds or other instruments which relate solely to such land shall be recorded with the records of deeds, but shall be registered in the registration book and filed and indexed with the records and documents relating to registered land.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1934–2025 · leading case: Batchelder v. Plan. Bd. of Yarmouth, 575 N.E.2d 366 (Mass. App. Ct. 1991).

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Batchelder v. Plan. Bd. of Yarmouth, 575 N.E.2d 366 (Mass. App. Ct. 1991). “See G. L. c. 185, § 36. Here, the trust withdrew its registration complaint before the Land Court issued a final decree establishing title to the locus.”

McMullen v. Porch, 190 N.E. 835 (Mass. 1934). “G. L. c. 185, § 36, permits the respondent to set up a title acquired by deed after the petition was filed.”

Maureen's Mirtilli, LLC v. Idlewild Acres LLC & Another. (Mass. App. Ct. 2025). “See G. L. c. 185, § 36 (title unaffected by "filing of a complaint and before registration").”

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