Mass. Gen. Laws » Part III Title II Chapter 235
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 235, § 27 (2026)

Set-off of execution generally; exceptions

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 27. Executions between the same parties may, if required by either party, be set off one against the other. In such case, the debtor in an execution which has been delivered to an officer to be served shall deliver his execution to the same officer, whether directed to him or to another, and the officer shall apply the smaller execution, so far as it will extend, to the satisfaction of the larger execution, and the balance due on the larger execution may be collected and paid by him as if there had been no set-off; but such set-off shall not be allowed—

First, If the creditor in one of the executions is not, in the same capacity and trust, the debtor in the other.

Second, If the amount due on the first execution was lawfully and in good faith assigned to another person before the creditor in the second execution became entitled to the amount due thereon.

Third, If there are several creditors in one execution, from a part of whom only the amount due on the other is due.

Fourth, If there are several debtors in one execution, to a part of whom only the amount due on the other is due.

Fifth, As to the portion of either execution upon which the attorney has a lien under section fifty of chapter two hundred and twenty-one.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1924–2025 · leading case: Cosmopolitan Trust Co. v. Suffolk Knitting Mills, 143 N.E. 138 (Mass. 1924).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Cosmopolitan Trust Co. v. Suffolk Knitting Mills, 143 N.E. 138 (Mass. 1924). · cites it 2× “It is stated in the report that “it is no doubt the hope of the knitting mills that it may later set off its execution against the trust company’s execution under G. L. c. 235, § 27.” There is nothing further in the record, either in the pleadings of the knitting mills or…”
PGR Mgmt. Co. v. Credle, 694 N.E.2d 1273 (Mass. 1998). “Our conclusion is consistent with G. L. c. 235, § 27, which prohibits the setoff of executions “[a]s to the portion of .”
City of Beverly v. Bass River Golf Mgmt., Inc., & Another. (Mass. App. Ct. 2025). · cites it 2× “9 See G. L. c. 235, § 27 (set off prohibited as to portion of the execution upon which the attorney has a valid lien pursuant to G.”
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.