Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 209A, § 5 (2026)

Granting of relief when court closed; certification

✓ current as of July 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 5. When the court is closed for business or the plaintiff is unable to appear in court because of severe hardship due to the plaintiff's physical condition, any justice of the superior, probate and family, district or Boston municipal court departments may grant relief to the plaintiff as provided under section four if the plaintiff demonstrates a substantial likelihood of immediate danger of abuse. In the discretion of the justice, such relief may be granted and communicated by telephone to an officer or employee of an appropriate law enforcement agency, who shall record such order on a form of order promulgated for such use by the chief justice of the trial court and shall deliver a copy of such order on the next court day to the clerk-magistrate of the court having venue and jurisdiction over the matter. If relief has been granted without the filing of a complaint pursuant to this section of this chapter, then the plaintiff shall appear in court on the next available business day to file said complaint. If the plaintiff in such a case is unable to appear in court without severe hardship due to the plaintiff's physical condition, then a representative may appear in court on the plaintiff's behalf and file the requisite complaint with an affidavit setting forth the circumstances preventing the plaintiff from appearing personally. Notice to the plaintiff and defendant and an opportunity for the defendant to be heard shall be given as provided in said section four.

Any order issued under this section and any documentation in support thereof shall be certified on the next court day by the clerk-magistrate or register of the court issuing such order to the court having venue and jurisdiction over the matter. Such certification to the court shall have the effect of commencing proceedings under this chapter and invoking the other provisions of this chapter but shall not be deemed necessary for an emergency order issued under this section to take effect.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 10 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1997–2026 · leading case: C.R.S. v. J.M.S., 89 N.E.3d 1198 (Mass. App. Ct. 2017).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

C.R.S. v. J.M.S., 89 N.E.3d 1198 (Mass. App. Ct. 2017). “On May 29, 2016, a District Court judge, on call for emergency matters, issued an emergency ex parte abuse prevention *562 order (ex parte order) pursuant to G. L. c. 209A, § 5, ordering the defendant not to abuse the plaintiff; not to contact her, directly or indirectly; and to…”

Comm'r of Prob. v. Adams, 843 N.E.2d 1101 (Mass. App. Ct. 2006). “Vaccaro, obtained an ex parte temporary protective order against the defendant, her husband, pursuant to G. L. c. 209A, § 5. Id. at 154. At a subsequent hearing, Mrs.”

Vaccaro v. Vaccaro, 425 Mass. 153 (Mass. 1997). “On September 27, 1993, Donalda Vaccaro (Donalda), who was separated from her husband, George, applied in the District Court (with the assistance of the police) for an emergency temporary protective order against him, pursuant to G. L. c. 209A, § 5. The following day, based on…”

L.L. v. M.M., 120 N.E.3d 737 (Mass. App. Ct. 2019). “See G. L. c. 209A, § 5. The judge ordered the defendant not to abuse the plaintiff, not to contact her directly or indirectly, and to stay one hundred yards away from her and her children.”

Commonwealth v. Molloy, 690 N.E.2d 836 (Mass. App. Ct. 1998). “The defendant appeals from a conviction of violating an order issued pursuant to G. L. c. 209A, § 5, following trial by jury in the District Court for an incident that occurred on February 18, 1996.”

Commonwealth v. Podgurski, 691 N.E.2d 980 (Mass. App. Ct. 1998). “In response, the police helped the defendant’s wife obtain an emergency abuse prevention order (hereinafter “209A order”), see G. L. c. 209A, § 5 (as amended through St.”

N.S. v. A.S. (Mass. App. Ct. 2024). · cites it 2× “argues that, after the initial ex parte order was issued by an on-call judge from another District Court, acting under G. L. c. 209A, § 5, the clerk-magistrate of the court to which the on-call judge was assigned failed to certify the order to the court having venue and…”

Apessos v. Mem'l Press Grp., 15 Mass. L. Rptr. 322 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2002). · cites it 2× “Apessos to obtain a temporary abuse prevention order in accordance with G.L.c. 209A, §5 (id., ¶14). On the evening of July 29 Hernandez called Ms.”

L.L. v. M.M. (Mass. App. Ct. 2019). “See G. L. c. 209A, § 5. The judge ordered the defendant not to abuse the plaintiff, not to contact her directly or indirectly, and to stay one hundred yards away from her and her children.”

J.R. v. B.M. (Mass. App. Ct. 2026). “The statute provides that "[i]f relief has been granted without the filing of a complaint pursuant to this section of this chapter, then the plaintiff shall appear in court on the next available business day to file said complaint.”

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.