Sometimes, but you have to support the request and make a record of it. The Appeals Court upheld a Housing Court judge’s refusal to vacate a default eviction judgment against an occupant who missed her hearing and later said she had given the judge medical documentation, because nothing in the appeal record showed that she had. This is an unpublished Appeals Court decision under Rule 23.0, which courts may cite as persuasive but not as binding precedent.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 owner filed a summary process case to recover a hotel room the occupant was living in. She did not appear at the first court event, and a default judgment entered against her. She moved to vacate the default. She asked, as an accommodation, for a virtual hearing at 2:00 p.m., and the judge allowed that as a courtesy, while noting the request was unsupported. The judge’s order said any further accommodation would require a sworn letter from a healthcare provider, on letterhead, explaining the diagnosis and its connection to the accommodation. She did not appear at the virtual hearing, and the judge denied her motion to vacate.
What the court decided
The Appeals Court affirmed both the order scheduling the virtual hearing and the order denying the motion to vacate in Concord Madison Woburn LLC v. Linardon, No. 24-P-1216 (Mass. App. Ct. December 5, 2025) (Rule 23.0 decision).
The appeal was not moot. The owner said the case was over because the occupant moved out in December 2024. The court disagreed. She had filed counterclaims asking for money damages, and moving out did not appear to end those.
No record, no relief. The court read her brief as arguing that the judge should have continued the hearing because she had submitted medical documentation. But her brief cited nothing in the record, and no medical documentation appeared in her record appendix. The court said her argument failed for that reason alone. The appellate rules require an appellant to point to the record and to include in the appendix the papers the court needs.
No abuse of discretion. The papers she did file showed the judge granted the accommodation she asked for, a 2:00 p.m. virtual hearing. The judge’s order also suggested she had not given him medical support for anything more. Whether to grant a continuance is up to the trial judge’s discretion. Botsaris v. Botsaris, 26 Mass. App. Ct. 254 (1988). On this record, the court saw no abuse of that discretion.
Other issues. Her arguments about changing venue and about the owner being the wrong party did not bear on whether the default should be vacated. The court also refused the owner’s request to bar her from filing anything further in any Massachusetts court without permission, because the owner cited no case showing that a panel of the Appeals Court could order that.
The Appeals Court did not decide whether the trial judge’s demand for a sworn provider letter stating a diagnosis was the right standard. It decided only that this occupant had not shown error on the record she filed.
What this means for you
Missing a court date in an eviction case is dangerous. A default can end your case before you are heard. If a disability makes it hard to attend, you can ask the court for an accommodation, such as a virtual hearing or a different time. But if you then miss the accommodated hearing, getting another chance is much harder.
Put everything in writing and make sure it is filed with the court, not just mentioned. If you appeal, the appeals court sees only what is in the record and in your appendix. A letter that you say you gave the judge but that is not in the papers does not exist for appeal purposes.
The decision should not be read to mean that every tenant must disclose a diagnosis. In a later unpublished decision, PRI Glen Grove, LLC v. Laffan, No. 24-P-918 (Mass. App. Ct. September 1, 2026) (Rule 23.0 decision), the Appeals Court said a tenant’s own testimony could be enough to show the link between her disability and her request. What a court may require depends on the request and the facts.
What to do now
- Read every court notice and put each date on your calendar.
- If you need an accommodation, file a written request before the hearing and keep a stamped copy.
- Attach a letter from a provider who knows you, saying what you need and why, if you can get one.
- Attend the hearing in whatever form the court allows, even if you think the accommodation is not enough, and say so on the record.
- If a default enters, move quickly to vacate it and explain in a sworn statement why you missed court.
If this is your situation, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 or tell us what happened. Housing Court deadlines are short.
