Mass. Gen. Laws » Part III Title IV Chapter 246
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 246, § 1 (2026)

Actions maintainable; trustees

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 1. Trustee process may be used in accordance with the applicable rules of court in connection with the commencement of all personal actions except actions only for specific recovery of goods and chattels, for malicious prosecution, for slander and libel, or for assault and battery; and any person may be summoned as trustee of the defendant therein; but except in the case of a complaint which contains a statement that the action is upon a judgment, a contract for personal services, for goods sold and delivered, or for money due under a contract in writing, or to recover damages on account of the operation of a motor vehicle not registered in the commonwealth, no summons and complaint in any action seeking damages in excess of one thousand dollars shall be served upon any alleged trustee unless there shall have been filed by the plaintiff, if other than a city or town of the commonwealth named therein, in the court wherein such action is commenced, a bond with a surety company authorized to do business in the commonwealth as surety, or with sureties approved by a justice, associate justice or special justice of such court, said bond to be in a penal sum in such amount as the court which approves the trustee process shall require but not less than two hundred and fifty dollars and to be conditioned upon payment to the defendant, if the plaintiff fails to recover or if such action is discontinued, of all costs which may be awarded to the defendant and all damages which he may sustain by reason of such attachment, but not exceeding the penal sum of the bond, nor unless there shall have been endorsed on the complaint by the justice, associate justice or special justice who approved said bond, or by the clerk of such court, the fact that the bond required by this section has been filed in such court. An individual who is not an inhabitant of the commonwealth, or a foreign corporation or association, shall not be so summoned unless he or it has a usual place of business in the commonwealth. The amount paid by the plaintiff to a surety company for becoming surety on such a bond shall be taxed in his costs if he prevails in the action. No bond shall be required to be filed as provided herein in an action brought hereunder by the attorney general on behalf of the commonwealth or any department, board, commission, office or officer thereof. Trustee process may likewise be issued in actions to enforce an order for alimony, maintenance or child support by the filing of a complaint and following the procedures set forth in section thirty-six A of chapter two hundred and eight, and no bond shall be required to be filed as otherwise provided herein in such actions.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 33 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1932–2021 · leading case: Micro Signal Rsch., Inc. v. Otus, 417 F.3d 28 (1st Cir. 2005).
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Micro Signal Rsch., Inc. v. Otus, 417 F.3d 28 (1st Cir. 2005). · cites it 2× “3 There remain claims by defendants that the district court had no authority to issue its attachment order as to defendants’ real property located in California, and that it lacked jurisdiction to order trustee process attachment directed at Cupertino, a bank apparently located…”
Buono v. Nardella, 182 N.E.2d 142 (Mass. 1962). · cites it 4× “This action of contract commenced by trustee process was dismissed on motion of the defendants on March 24, 1960, for failure to file a bond as required by G. L. c. 246, § 1 (as amended through St.”
KPS & Assocs., Inc. v. Designs by FMC, Inc., 318 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2003). “See Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 246, § 1 (West 2002).”
Cahaly v. Benistar Prop. Exch. Trust Co., 842 A.2d 1113 (Conn. 2004). “93A, § 11, conversion, and trustee process and reach pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws c. 246, § 1, and Mass. Gen.”
Creed v. Apog, 386 N.E.2d 1273 (Mass. 1979). “G. L. c. 246, §§ 1,20. On motion of the defendants the judge ordered the attachment reduced to $200,000, after which the defendants caused the attachment to be dissolved by filing a surety company bond therefor as provided in G.”
Bird v. Capital Site Mgmt. Co., 423 Mass. 172 (Mass. 1996). · cites it 2× “After filing his complaint, the plaintiff sought and obtained judicial approval to make an attachment by trustee process, but he did not, as required by G. L. c. 246, § 1 (1994 ed.), file a bond in an amount established by the judge who approved the trustee process.”
Cressey v. Erie R.R., 180 N.E. 160 (Mass. 1932). · cites it 2× “The attachment was made pursuant to G. L. c. 246, §§ 1, 4. Koontz v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, 220 Mass.”
Keville v. McKeever, 675 N.E.2d 417 (Mass. App. Ct. 1997). “There is no merit in the McKeevers’ additional claim that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the action because the guardian failed to post a bond in accordance with G. L. c. 246, § 1. Section 1, as amended through St.”
Big D Carpets, Inc. v. Welch Grp., Inc., 639 N.E.2d 1085 (Mass. App. Ct. 1994). · cites it 2× “Welch Group claims on appeal that the court lacked jurisdiction due to the failure of the plaintiff to file a bond under G. L. c. 246, § 1. That section, as amended through St.”
Cohen v. Lindsey, 644 N.E.2d 250 (Mass. App. Ct. 1995). “See G. L. c. 246, §§ 1, 13; Gilleran, Massachusetts Prejudgment Security Devices: Attachment, Trustee Process, and Reach and Apply, 69 Mass.”
Frontier Enter., Inc. v. Anchor Co. of Marblehead, 536 N.E.2d 352 (Mass. 1989). “…to that instrument (the Davekoses participated only as corporate officers) and also by recourse to trustee process. G. L. c. 246, §§ 1 et seq.”
R.G. v. Hall, 640 N.E.2d 492 (Mass. App. Ct. 1994). “*412 See G. L. c. 246, §§ 1 et seq. Hall has a safe deposit box at that bank, and the plaintiffs wanted a restraint on transfer of any cash (for example, from the sale of the Needham and Waltham properties) that finds its way into the deposit box.”
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