Acts, 1934.
— Chap.
597
387.
An Act
giving district courts exclusive original juris- (JJku) 337
DICTION OF actions OF TORT ARISING OUT OF THE OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLES.
Be
it
enacted,
etc.,
as follows:
Section 1. Section nineteen of chapter two hundred and
eighteen of the General Laws, as appearing in the Tercentenary Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in the first
hne, the word "District" and inserting in place thereof the
words:
Except as herein otherwise provided, district,
District
and by adding at the end thereof the following
courts shall have exclusive original jurisdiction of actions of
tort arising out of the operation of a motor vehicle,
so as
to read as follows:
Section 19. Except as herein otherwise
provided, district courts shall have original jurisdiction concurrent with the superior court of actions of contract, tort
and replevin, and also of actions in summary process under
chapter two hundred and thirty-nine and proceedings under
section forty-one of chapter two hundred and thirty-one.
District courts shall have exclusive original jurisdiction of
actions of tort arising out of the operation of a motor vehicle.
Section 2. Chapter two hundred and twenty-three of the
General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section two,
as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following:
—
:
g. l. (Ter.
flV^':muM,'ded.
—
—
—
— Section
2. Except as provided in section twenty-one of
chapter two hundred and eighteen and except as provided in
this section, a transitory action in a district court shall be
brought in the county where one of the defendants lives or
has his usual place of business, or, if commenced by trustee
process, in the county where all persons named in the writ as
trustees live or have their usual places of business, and, in
either case, in a court within whose judicial district one of the
parties lives or has his usual place of business, except that an
action commenced by trustee process may be brought in the
municipal court of the city of Boston if any trustee resides
or has his usual place of business in Suffolk county. An action
of tort arising out of the operation of a motor vehicle shall
be brought in a district court within whose judicial district
one of the parties lives or in any district court in the same
county, which adjoins the judicial district in which the defendant lives or has his usual place of business, provided, that
if one of the parties to any such action lives in Suffolk county
such action may be brought in the municipal court of the city
of Boston.
Said courts shall have jurisdiction of a transitory action
against a defendant who is not an inhabitant of the commonwealth, if personal service or an effectual attachment of
property is made within the commonwealth and such action
may be brought in any of said courts in the county where the
<'ivii
iurisdic-
eo^urts/'^''"^*
g. l. rier.
^2,'
amended,
venue
of
S,7(ii'st"rict'"'"'
'""rts.
;
was made.
Chapter two hundred and thirty-one of the g l (Ter.
General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section npw soo't^on
service or attachment
Section
3.
102A, added.
Acts, 1934.
598
Removal
of
certain
actions of
tort
brought
in ilistrict
courts.
— Chap.
387.
one hundred and two, as so appearing, the following new
section:
Section 102 A. A party bringing in a district court
an action of tort arising out of the operation of a motor
vehicle shall thereby be deemed to have waived a trial by
jury and any right of appeal to the superior court, unless
said action is removed to the superior court as provided in
this section, but in case such action is so removed by any other
party the plaintiff shall have the same right to claim a jury
trial as if the action had been originally brought in the
superior court. Not less than two nor more than four days
after the entry of such an action in a district court, the plain-
—
may file in said court a claim of trial by the superior court,
with or without jury, and an affidavit by his counsel of record,
if any, and if none, the affidavit of such party, that in his
opinion there is an issue of fact or law requiring trial in the
cause and that such trial is in good faith intended, together
with the sum of three dollars for the entry of the cause in
the superior court. The clerk shall forthwith transmit the
papers in the cause and said entry fee to the clerk of the
superior court, and the case shall proceed as though originally
entered there.
No other party to such action shall be entitled to an
appeal. In heu thereof, any such other party may remove
such action to the superior court and the pertinent provisions
of sections one hundred and four to one hundred and ten,
inclusive, shall apply thereto. If a trial by jury is claimed by
any party such action may be marked for trial upon the list
of causes advanced for speedy trial by jury.
Section 4. Section one hundred and forty-one of said
chapter two hundred and thirty-one, as most recently
amended by section three of chapter three hundred of the
acts of nineteen hundred and thirty-three, is hereby further
tiff
G. L. (Ter.
Ed.), 231,
§141. etc..
amended.
Sections
applicable to
civil actions
in district
courts.
amended by inserting after the words "one hundred and
two" in the eighteenth and nineteenth fines the words:
one hundred and two A,
so as to read as foUows:
Sec,
—
—
tion 141. Sections one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, ten,
eleven, twelve, thirteen, thirteen A, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen,
seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twentytwo, twenty-three, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven,
twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two,
thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven,
thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty, forty-one, forty-two, fortythree, forty-four, forty-five, forty-seven, forty-eight, fortynine, fifty, fifty-one, fifty-two, fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-six,
fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-eight A, fifty-nine B, sixty-one,
sixty-two, sixty-three, sixty-four, sixty-five, sixty-six, sixtyseven, sixty-eight, sixty-nine, seventy, seventy-two, seventythree, seventy-four, seventy-five, seventy-nine, eighty-five,
eighty-five A, eighty-seven, eighty-eight, eighty-nine, ninety,
ninety-one, ninety-two, ninety-three, ninety-four, ninety-five,
ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred and one,
one hundred and two, one hundred and two A, one hundred
three, one hundred and four, one hundred and five, one
and
Acts, 1934.
— Chap.
599
387.
hundred and six, one hundred and seven, one hundred and
eight, one hundred and nine, one hundred and ten, one hundred and twenty-four, one hundred and twenty-five, one
hundred and twenty-six, one hundred and thirty-two, one
hundred and thirty-three, one hundred and thirty-four, one
hundred and thirty-five, one hundred and thirty-six, one
hundred and thirty-seven, one hundred and thirty-eight, one
hundred and thirty-nine, one hundred and forty, one hundred
and forty A and one hundred and forty-seven shall apply to
civil actions before district courts, and no other sections of
municipal court of
the city of Boston under section one hundred and forty-three.
Section 5. This act shall take effect on October first of the
current year and shall apply only to actions commenced
thereafter.
Approved June SO, 1934this chapter shall so apply, except to the
Effective
<^"*«-