Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 240, § 10 (2026)

Proceeding in rem; effect of judgment

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 10. After all the defendants have been served with process or notified as provided in section seven and after the appointment of a guardian ad litem or next friend, if such appointment has been made, the court may proceed as though all defendants had been actually served with process. Such action shall be a proceeding in rem against the land, and a judgment establishing or declaring the validity, nature or extent of the plaintiff's title may be entered, and shall operate directly on the land and have the force of a release made by or on behalf of all defendants of all claims inconsistent with the title established or declared thereby. This and the four preceding sections shall not prevent the court from also exercising jurisdiction in personam against defendants actually served with process who are personally amenable to its judgments.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 7 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1959–2021 · leading case: Bevilacqua v. Rodriguez, 955 N.E.2d 884 (Mass. 2011).

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Bevilacqua v. Rodriguez, 955 N.E.2d 884 (Mass. 2011). “An action to quiet title is an in rem action, G. L. c. 240, § 10, brought under the court’s equity jurisdiction.”

Abate v. Fremont Inv. & Loan, 26 N.E.3d 695 (Mass. 2015). “14 In comparison, an action to quiet title, G. L. c. 240, § 10, is an in rem action brought under the court’s equity jurisdiction.”

Oum v. Wells Fargo, N.A., 842 F. Supp. 2d 407 (D. Mass. 2012). “There is also no dispute that, by the time the master heard evidence concerning the various changes in the title, the plaintiff had regained ownership.”

Lombard v. United States, 356 F.3d 151 (1st Cir. 2004). “” Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 240, § 10 . It then further provides: “Such action shall be a proceeding in rem against the land, and a judgment establishing or declaring the validity, nature or extent of the plaintiffs title may be entered, and shall operate directly on the land and have…”

Cowden v. Cutting, 158 N.E.2d 324 (Mass. 1959). “See G. L. c. 240, § 10. The defendant’s possible interest has, as noted, been disposed of by the correct rulings for the plaintiff on the issue of adverse possession.”

Griffin v. Carvill (2021). “According to G.L. c. 240, § 10, quiet-title actions are "a proceeding in rem against the land, and a judgment establishing or declaring the validity, nature or extent of the plaintiff's title may be entered, and shall operate directly on the land.”

Chomo v. Full Spectrum Lending, Inc. (D. Mass. 2019). “In sum, Chomo has not articulated any viable legal basis for this claim and the Court accordingly grants Defendants’ motion to dismiss Count III.”

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