Section 61. The provisions of this section and of sections sixty-two through sixty-nine, inclusive, shall be applicable only to civil proceedings which are not governed by the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure or the District-Municipal Courts Rules of Civil Procedure. Any party, after the commencement of an action, may interrogate an adverse party for the discovery of facts and documents admissible in evidence at the trial of the case. No party shall file as of right more than thirty interrogatories, including interrogatories subsidiary or incidental to, or dependent upon, other interrogatories, and however the same may be grouped, combined or arranged; but for adequate cause shown, the court may allow additional interrogatories to be filed. The word ”party”, in this section, in sections sixty-two to sixty-five, inclusive, and in section sixty-seven, shall be deemed to include parties intervening or otherwise admitted after the beginning of the suit.

Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws ch. 231 sec. 61

  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.