Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 231, § 103 (2026)

Waiver of jury trial and right of appeal in cases brought in district court

✓ current as of July 2026

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

Section 103. If a party elects to bring in any district court any action or other civil proceeding which he might have begun in the superior court, he shall be deemed to have waived a trial by jury and his right of appeal to the superior court, unless within thirty days of commencement of the action or service of a responsive pleading, or within such further time as the court may allow, a plaintiff files a claim to a jury trial in the superior court with the district court and within thirty days after notice of the decision or finding files an entry fee of fifty dollars and bond in accordance with the second paragraph of section one hundred and four; provided, however, that if any claim, counterclaim or cross-claim is asserted against a plaintiff who has elected to bring such action or other civil proceeding in any district court, said plaintiff may of right remove said action or proceeding and claim a jury trial in the same manner and upon the same terms as set forth in said section one hundred and four; and, provided further, that if any compulsory counterclaim is asserted by a defendant, said defendant may of right remove the action and claim a jury trial in the same manner and upon the same terms as are set forth in said section one hundred and four. This section and sections one hundred and four to one hundred and ten, inclusive, shall not apply to actions or counterclaims under the provisions of chapter two hundred and thirty-nine.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 36 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1958–2026 · leading case: Shea v. Neponset River Marine & Sportfishing, Inc., 437 N.E.2d 250 (Mass. App. Ct. 1982).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Shea v. Neponset River Marine & Sportfishing, Inc., 437 N.E.2d 250 (Mass. App. Ct. 1982). · cites it 10× “Neponset’s entire argument rests on the amendment of G. L. c. 231, § 103, by St. 1975, c. 377, § 103 (the “new” § 103), which, in addition to making changes conforming the verbiage of c.”

Cranberry Realty & Mortg. Co. v. Ackerley Commc'ns, Inc., 457 N.E.2d 674 (Mass. App. Ct. 1983). · cites it 5× “121 (1982) (hereafter Shea), *256 we held that the deletion of the exclusionary sentence in G. L. c. 231, § 103, as amended through St.”

Beaulieu v. Bell, 668 N.E.2d 1335 (Mass. App. Ct. 1996). · cites it 6× “251, § 1, to G. L. c. 231, § 103, requires that a plaintiff who initiates a civil action in a District Court claiming more than $25,000, and who desires to preserve the right later to claim a jury trial in the Superior Court, must, within thirty days of the commencement of the…”

Sperounes v. Farese, 873 N.E.2d 239 (Mass. 2007). · cites it 2× “G. L. c. 231, § 103, as appearing in St. 1987, c.”

Hudson v. Massachusetts Prop. Ins. Underwriting Ass'n, 436 N.E.2d 155 (Mass. 1982). “G. L. c. 231, § 103. See, e.g., Moulton v.”

Parrell v. Keenan, 452 N.E.2d 506 (Mass. 1983). “G. L. c. 231, §§ 103, 104. See Locke v. Slater, 387 Mass.”

Third Nat'l Bank of Hampden Cnty. v. CONT. INS. CO, 446 N.E.2d 380 (Mass. 1983). “231, § 97, is deemed waived under G. L. c. 231, § 103, by commencing in a District Court an action that could have been commenced in the Superior Court.”

Moulton v. Brookline Rent Control Bd., 431 N.E.2d 225 (Mass. 1982). “” G. L. c. 231, § 103. Therefore, this matter was properly before the Appellate Division.”

Locke v. Slater, 442 N.E.2d 732 (Mass. 1982). “Unless reversed by this court, the result of the denial by the Appellate Division of the plaintiffs’ petition to establish the report is that the action is disposed of as if no request for report had been made.”

Joseph Freedman Co. v. North Penn Transfer, Inc., 447 N.E.2d 657 (Mass. 1983). “G. L. c. 231, § 103. Compare Locke v. Slater, 387 Mass.”

Islami v. Needham, 648 N.E.2d 778 (Mass. App. Ct. 1995). · cites it 2× “in an amount to be determined by a jury,” without more, is sufficient to preserve his right under G. L. c. 231, § 103, to remove his case from the District Court, where the action was commenced, to the Superior Court for a jury trial there.”

Cole v. New England Mut. Life Ins., 729 N.E.2d 319 (Mass. App. Ct. 2000). “After a judge of the Boston Municipal Court found for the defendants on all counts of the complaint, the plaintiff, having satisfied all the procedural requirements of G. L. c. 231, § 103, appealed to the Superior Court.”

Show all 36 citing cases →

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.