Yes. The Appeals Court affirmed the dismissal of a tenant’s eviction appeal because he never filed his brief, even after the deadline was extended. His self-represented status and claimed disability did not excuse the missed deadline, and the clerk’s office had no duty to assemble the record for him. This is an unpublished Appeals Court decision under Rule 23.0, which courts may cite as persuasive but not as binding precedent.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 against the tenant in the Cambridge District Court in July 2023. A default judgment for possession entered that October, and two judges denied the tenant’s motions to vacate the default. The tenant appealed to the Appellate Division of the District Court, which gave him thirty days to file his brief. Near the deadline he asked for sixty more days. The Appellate Division found no good cause for that long an extension but gave him a new deadline of May 7, 2024. He never filed a brief, and the Appellate Division dismissed the appeal for failure to file a brief within the time as extended.
What the court decided
In Central Square, LLC v. Stiebel, No. 24-P-1354 (Mass. App. Ct. July 2, 2026) (Rule 23.0 decision), the Appeals Court affirmed the dismissal.
First, the Appellate Division had power to act. Under G.L. c. 231, § 108, a party in a District Court case may appeal a ruling of law to the Appellate Division as of right. The same statute says that if the appealing party does not properly pursue the appeal, the Appellate Division may order the case to go forward as though no appeal had been filed. The Appellate Division’s own rules, Dist./Mun. Cts. R.A.D.A. 19(c), also let it dismiss an appeal on its own when the appellant misses the brief deadline, including an extended one.
Second, dismissal was not an abuse of discretion. The court relied on State Realty Co. of Boston v. MacNeil Bros. Co., 358 Mass. 374 (1970), which holds that litigants must pursue their cases with reasonable diligence and that courts may refuse to keep considering cases a party has unreasonably failed to pursue.
Third, the tenant’s status did not change the result. Courts must give a self-represented party a meaningful opportunity to present the case. CMJ Mgt. Co. v. Wilkerson, 91 Mass. App. Ct. 276 (2017). But the rules of procedure bind a self-represented litigant the same way they bind everyone else. Mmoe v. Commonwealth, 393 Mass. 617 (1985). As for disability, the court quoted court guidelines saying judges should allow reasonable accommodation requests, meaning ones that do not fundamentally change the court’s services or create an undue burden.
The tenant said he did not file a brief because he was waiting for the District Court clerk’s office to put together the record for him to review, a record he said ran over seven hundred pages. The court held that request would fundamentally change the clerk’s role. In a civil appeal, the appealing party, not the clerk, is responsible for preparing the record. His reason for not filing rested on a duty the clerk did not have.
What this means for you
This case is a warning. A tenant can lose an eviction appeal without the court ever looking at the merits. Filing a notice of appeal is only the first step. After that you must order transcripts if needed, assemble the record, and file a brief by the deadline. If you miss the deadline, the appeal can be dismissed, and the judgment against you stands.
Asking for more time is allowed, but it is not automatic. Here the tenant asked for sixty days. He did not show good cause, so he got a new deadline two weeks after the ruling instead. Then he filed nothing. A shorter extension is still a deadline.
If you have a disability, you can ask the court for a reasonable accommodation, and you should. But an accommodation adjusts how you take part. It does not shift your job to court staff. Ask early, in writing, and say exactly what you need.
Finally, note that this appeal started from a default judgment. The best time to protect yourself is before a default ever enters, by appearing on your court date and filing your answer.
What to do now
- Write down every appeal deadline the moment you receive an order. Count the days yourself.
- If you need more time, file a motion before the deadline passes and explain your specific reasons.
- Gather your own record. Keep copies of everything you file and receive in the case.
- If you need a disability accommodation, request it from the court in writing as early as possible.
- Get a lawyer’s help with the appeal. Appeals have strict rules that are easy to miss.
If this is your situation, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 or tell us what happened. Housing Court deadlines are short.
