District/Municipal Court Rules  Joint Standing Order 2-15: Suspended

The purpose of the Suspension of this Joint Standing Order is to promote interdepartmental uniformity and to eliminate any unnecessary confusion, complexity and duplication on litigants, attorneys, court personnel and judges in light of the recent amendments to the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure.

The Joint Standing Order provides a highly-detailed set of procedures for certain civil cases in the Boston Municipal and District Courts. By order of the Supreme Judicial Court on May 22, 2018, effective January 1, 2019, the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure have been amended by inserting Rule 8.1, Special Requirements for Certain Consumer Debts and Rule 55.1, Special Requirements for Defaults and Default Judgments for Certain Consumer Debts. The new rules provide a different highly-detailed set of procedures for a subset of cases effected by the Joint Standing Order as well as to certain cases in the Superior Court. The ongoing operation of both the Standing Order and the Amended Rules would result in a complex and duplicative procedural system that would be challenging to lawyers, litigants, court personnel and judges. The suspension of the Joint Standing Order rather than termination is to provide for flexibility should the rules concerning debt collection change in the future.

It is therefore ordered:

Joint Standing Order No. 2-15 regarding Verification of Defendant’s Address for Claim Incurred in Trade or Commerce or Pursuing Assigned Debt is suspended for all cases commenced on or after January 1, 2019.