Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 257, § 6 (2026)

Proceedings

✓ current as of July 2026

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

Section 6. The libel shall be entered and conducted as a civil action; and if after notice no claimant appears, the court shall, upon a hearing, decree a forfeiture, restoration or other appropriate disposition of the property. If a claimant appears, he may allege and answer any matter material for his defence, and either party shall be entitled to claim a jury trial upon issues of fact as in other civil actions.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1978–2025 · leading case: Commonwealth v. One 1972 Chevrolet Van, 431 N.E.2d 209 (Mass. 1982).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Commonwealth v. One 1972 Chevrolet Van, 431 N.E.2d 209 (Mass. 1982). “, G. L. c. 257, § 6, the general forfeiture statute, which *203 characterizes the proceeding as a civil action in which either party is entitled to claim a jury trial as in other civil actions; G.”

Commonwealth v. United Food Corp., 374 N.E.2d 1231 (Mass. 1978). “” G. L. c. 257, § 6. But not all forfeitures are governed by that statute.”

Commonwealth v. One (1) Check in the Amount of $480.00 for 1,600 Pieces of Wild Oysters (Crassostrea Virginica) (Mass. App. Ct. 2025). · cites it 2× “" G. L. c. 257, § 6.[9] If the libellant prevails, "the court shall decree a forfeiture and sale of the property and a distribution of the proceeds, or other appropriate disposition thereof.”

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.