The Supreme Judicial Court's Standing Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure (SAC) invites comments on a proposed amendment to Mass. R. Civ. P. 51. As described in the proposed Reporter's Notes, the amendment would insert a new subsection Rule 51(a)(2) to extend the right to argue damages set forth in G.L. c. 231, § 13B to actions in all trial courts governed by the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure. Although G.L. c. 231, § 13B addresses only arguments by counsel in civil actions in Superior Court, the new rule would allow parties, if self-represented, or their counsel to argue damages in all courts governed by the Mass. R. Civ. P. It also provides that if a plaintiff who intends to argue damages does not provide notice to all other parties in advance of closing arguments of the amount to be argued, the judge is required to use discretion to structure closing arguments to allow the opposing party a reasonable opportunity to address the suggested amount by, for example, allowing rebuttal or changing the order of closing argument. Organizational changes in Rule 51(a) are proposed to accommodate the new section.
The proposed amendments and the Reporter's Notes appear at the links below. Comments should be directed to Christine P. Burak, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, One Pemberton Square, Boston, MA 02108 on or before January 31, 2020. Comments may also be emailed to christine.burak@sjc.state.ma.us. Comments received will be made available to the public.