§ 1 Actions requiring commencement within twenty years
§ 2 Contract actions; actions upon judgments or decrees of courts of record
§ 2A Tort, contract to recover for personal injuries, and replevin actions
§ 2B Tort actions arising from improvements to real property
§ 2C Actions for damages, etc. for physical alteration or destruction of fine art
§ 2D Actions to recover costs of asbestos related corrective actions
§ 2E Actions against the Dalkon Shield Claimants Trust
§ 2F Prescription opioids actions
§ 3 Misconduct or negligence of deputies; actions against sheriffs
§ 3A Claims against commonwealth
§ 4 Certain tort or contract actions for malpractice, error or mistake
§ 4A Back wages, actions to recover
§ 4B Hit and run accidents
§ 4C Sexual abuse of minors
§ 4C1/2 Negligent supervision or conduct causing or contributing to the sexual abuse of minor by another person
§ 4D Civil remedies for victims of trafficking of persons for sexual servitude; damages; time for actions; representation of victim’s rights by others
§ 4E Female genital mutilation; civil action
§ 5 Penalties and forfeitures
§ 5A Consumer protection actions
§ 5B Civil rights actions
§ 6 Mutual and open account current
§ 7 Minors and incapacitated persons
§ 8 Citizens of enemy country; suspension of limitation
§ 9 Nonresident defendant; suspension of limitation
§ 10 Death of party; effect
§ 11 Contracts or acts of fiduciaries
§ 12 Fraudulent concealment; commencement of limitations
§ 13 Acknowledgment or new promise; effect
§ 14 Part payment; effect
§ 15 Acknowledgment or new promise by joint contractor; effect
§ 16 Acknowledgment or new promise by joint contractor; judgment
§ 17 Action not to be dismissed for failure to join barred party defendant
§ 18 Actions by state; laws applicable
§ 19 Special limitations
§ 19A Currency; euro as commercially reasonable substitute and substantial equivalent
§ 20 Presumption of satisfaction of judgment
§ 21 Recovery of land
§ 22 Accrual of right or title to land; limitation
§ 28 Possession of land; requisites
§ 29 Estates tail; barring remainders and reversions
§ 30 Estates tail; death of tenant; effect
§ 31 Actions by commonwealth
§ 31A Right of entry for condition broken or possibility of reverter; procedure
§ 32 Dismissal of action or reversal or vacation of judgment; commencement of new action
§ 33 Obsolete mortgages
§ 34 Extension of mortgage; acknowledgment that mortgage not satisfied, etc.
§ 35 Mortgage defined; commencement of proceedings, prerequisites; application of Secs. 33 to 35
§ 36 Application; computation
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Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws > Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
  • Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
  • Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
  • Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Remainderman: One entitled to the remainder of an estate after a particular reserved right or interest, such as a life tenancy, has expired.
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.