Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 218, § 19C (2026)

District court jurisdiction; equity powers and rules

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 19C. The district court and Boston municipal court departments of the trial court shall have the same equitable powers and jurisdiction as is provided for the superior court pursuant to chapter 214 and the same authority with regard to declaratory judgments as is provided for the superior court pursuant to chapter 231A for the purpose of the hearing and disposition of summary process actions and of civil actions for money damages under section 19 of this chapter.

The district courts shall have original jurisdiction in rem and personam of all actions arising under sections one hundred and twenty-seven A to one hundred and twenty-seven K, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and eleven. The district courts shall have equity powers only to the extent necessary to enforce the aforementioned sections, including the power to appoint receivers, grant injunctions and issue restraining orders as justice and equity may require and for punishing civil contempt of orders, rulings and decrees made or pronounced in the exercise of this jurisdiction.

Subject to the approval of the supreme judicial court, the chief justice for the district court department may from time to time promulgate rules and prescribe forms for the efficient operation of such equity sessions in the courts of the district court department; and in the Boston municipal court department the chief justice for said department may promulgate such rules and prescribe such forms.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 20 cases, 1978–2016 · leading case: Santos v. U.S Bank Nat'l Ass'n, 54 N.E.3d 548 (Mass. App. Ct. 2016).

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Santos v. U.S Bank Nat'l Ass'n, 54 N.E.3d 548 (Mass. App. Ct. 2016). “252, § 8 (“The district court and Boston municipal court departments of the trial court shall have the same equitable powers and jurisdiction as is provided for the superior court pursuant to chapter 214 and the same authority with regard to declaratory judgments as is provided…”

Bank of Am., N.A. v. Rosa, 999 N.E.2d 1080 (Mass. 2013). “See also G. L. c. 218, § 19C, as amended by St. 2004, c.”

Police Comm'r v. Mun. Court of Dorchester Dist., 374 N.E.2d 272 (Mass. 1978). “That the District Courts are not courts of general equity jurisdiction, see G. L. c. 218, § 19C, is of no particular relevance to the question of the proper exercise of their powers under the statutes granting jurisdiction to these courts as to matters involving juveniles.”

Zizza v. Zizza, 456 Mass. 401 (Mass. 2010). · cites it 2× “252, § 8, amended G. L. c. 218, § 19C, to give the District Court “the same equitable powers and jurisdiction as is provided for the superior court pursuant to [G.”

Walker v. Bd. of Appeals of Harwich, 445 N.E.2d 141 (Mass. 1983). “See G. L. c. 218, § 19C. Since the Appellate Division does not have a general grant of equity jurisdiction and since actions under G.”

Herman v. Home Depot, 763 N.E.2d 512 (Mass. 2002). “478, § 46, the District Court, by statute, had limited equity jurisdiction, see G. L. c. 218, § 19C. See note 5, supra. The Legislature’s addition of § 9 (3A) was entirely consistent with the limited equity jurisdiction of the District Court that existed in 1978, and merely…”

Maloney v. Sargisson, 465 N.E.2d 296 (Mass. App. Ct. 1984). “See, however, G. L. c. 218, § 19C, granting equity powers to the District Courts to enforce the State Sanitary Code (G.”

Commonwealth v. Teixeira / Commonwealth v. Meade, 475 Mass. 482 (Mass. 2016). “Accordingly, to the extent discovery is ‘“essential” to a judge’s ‘“capacity to decide” the question of probable cause, it is within his or her inherent powers to order it.”

Tusino v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Douglas, 56 N.E.3d 863 (Mass. App. Ct. 2016). “See G. L. c. 218, § 19C. After Walker , however, the statutory landscape changed with the Legislature’s extension of equity jurisdiction to the District Courts.”

City of Revere v. Gray, 2011 Mass. App. Div. 48 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 2011). “231, §118A and G.L.c. 218, §19C, of the denial of their request for a stay.”

Spencer v. City of Worcester, 1984 Mass. App. Div. 116 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 1984). “See G.L.c. 218, §19C conferring original jurisdiction in rem and personam of actions arising under G.”

Summer Hill Ltd. P'ship v. Double Dixon, Inc., 2010 Mass. App. Div. 109 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 2010). “As to the equitable jurisdiction issue, G.L.c. 218, §19C provides that the District Court Department “shall have the same equitable powers and jurisdiction as is provided for the superior court pursuant to chapter 214 .”

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