Massachusetts General Laws
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 228, § 4 (2026)
Death of sole plaintiff or defendant
✓ text as last checked Sept. 2026 (this copy records no edition or section history)
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Section 4. In a personal action the cause of which survives, if there is only one plaintiff or one defendant and he dies after the commencement of the action and before final judgment, the action may proceed and be prosecuted by or against his executor or administrator, and if the action, or an appeal therein, has not been entered prior to his death, it may be entered thereafter.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5
cases, 1925–1929 · leading case: Fin. Corp. v. Parker, 146 N.E. 696 (Mass. 1925).
Fin. Corp. v. Parker, 146 N.E. 696 (Mass. 1925). “G. L. c. 228, §§ 4, 5, 7. Colt v. Leonard, 133 Mass.”
E. S. Parks Shellac Co. v. Jones, 163 N.E. 883 (Mass. 1928). “. . against his executor .... If the executor .”
Everett Trust Co. v. Waltham Theatre Amusement Co., 166 N.E. 831 (Mass. 1929). “■ G. L. c. 228, §§ 4, 5, 7,12. On May 29 and June 26, 1928, the executrix filed a motion to dissolve certain injunctions issued on April 20 and June 2, 1926.”
Brotkin v. Feinberg, 265 Mass. 295 (1928). “Under G. L. c. 228, § 4, “In a personal action the cause of which survives,” if there is only one plaintiff or one *297 defendant and he dies after the action is begun, the action may proceed and be prosecuted by or against his executor or administrator; the “death shall be…”
Haven v. Smith, 146 N.E. 18 (Mass. 1925). “G. L. c. 228, § 4. See Gen. Sts. c. 97, § 5.”
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