No. In a Massachusetts eviction case, you cannot appeal a default judgment itself. Your path is a motion asking the Housing Court judge to vacate the default, and then, if the judge says no, a timely appeal from that denial. The Appeals Court applied that rule in this case and affirmed an order refusing a tenant’s request to file a late appeal. It is an unpublished Appeals Court decision under Rule 23.0, which courts may cite as persuasive but not as binding precedent.
What happened
The landlord filed a summary process case in the Housing Court to evict the tenants from a property in Weymouth and to collect unpaid rent. The tenants did not appear for the scheduled trial on October 7, 2024, and the judge granted a default judgment for the landlord. That same day, one tenant filed a motion to vacate the default. On October 31, the judge denied it, finding the tenants had not shown a valid reason for missing trial or a valid defense. The tenant then filed a motion to file a “late appeal” from the default, which the judge denied on December 12. The tenant appealed that December 12 order, but never filed a notice of appeal from the denial of the motion to vacate.
What the court decided
In N.L. v. J.P., No. 25-P-24 (Mass. App. Ct. March 4, 2026) (Rule 23.0 decision), the Appeals Court affirmed the order denying leave to file a late appeal.
The court relied on Rule 12 of the Uniform Summary Process Rules, which allows an appeal from any summary process judgment except a default judgment. The Supreme Judicial Court said the same thing in Adjartey v. Central Div. of the Hous. Court Dep’t, 481 Mass. 830, 856 (2019): summary process default judgments are not subject to appeal. So even a timely notice of appeal from the default judgment would have been a nullity. A late one could not do any better.
The court noted that the tenant had taken the right first step by moving to vacate the default. The problem was the next step. Instead of appealing the denial of the motion to vacate, the tenant tried to appeal the default judgment itself, which the rules do not allow.
In a footnote, the court added two more points. A claim that a trial lawyer was negligent is not a reason to reopen a civil judgment; the remedy is a separate malpractice case. Commonwealth v. Patton, 458 Mass. 119, 124 (2010). And the record did not support the claim that the judge was biased, because he made an appropriate inquiry before denying the motion to recuse. Demoulas v. Demoulas Super Mkts., Inc., 428 Mass. 543, 545 (1998).
What this means for you
This is an easy trap to fall into. If you miss your eviction trial, the judge can enter a default judgment against you. That judgment moves fast. Under the summary process rules described in Adjartey, a default judgment generally issues at 10 A.M. on the business day after the default enters. That gives you very little time.
Filing a notice of appeal from the default does nothing. What you need is a motion in the Housing Court to remove the default, which is possible only before judgment enters, or, after judgment, a motion for relief from the default judgment. In either motion, you generally have to show a good reason why you missed court and that you have a real defense. If the judge denies the motion, that denial is the order you appeal. Adjartey explains that an appeal from the denial of a motion for relief from judgment is allowed, but that it does not stop the eviction unless the court also grants a stay.
Deadlines in eviction cases are short. Under G.L. c. 239, § 5, a notice of appeal from a summary process judgment must be filed within ten days after the judgment enters. The tenant here appealed the wrong order. By the time the case reached the Appeals Court, there was nothing left that it could fix.
What to do now
- Never miss a Housing Court date. If you cannot attend, call the clerk and ask the court for a new date before the hearing.
- If you were defaulted, file a motion to remove the default or vacate the judgment right away, the same day if you can.
- In that motion, explain why you missed court and what your defense is, with papers that back it up.
- If the judge denies your motion, file a notice of appeal from that denial within the deadline, and ask for a stay if you need one.
- Get legal help as soon as you receive court papers. Housing Court rules are strict.
If this is your situation, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 or tell us what happened. Housing Court deadlines are short.
