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H1860 • 2025

An Act increasing the dispute limit for small claims court

An Act increasing the dispute limit for small claims court

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Marc T. Lombardo
Last action
2026-03-26
Official status
Accompanied a study order, see H5281 (under House Rule 27)
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act increasing the dispute limit for small claims court

An Act increasing the dispute limit for small claims court By Representative Lombardo of Billerica, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

  • An Act increasing the dispute limit for small claims court By Representative Lombardo of Billerica, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
  • 1860) of Marc T.
  • Lombardo for legislation to increase the dispute limit for small claims court.
  • The Judiciary.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-26 House

    Accompanied a study order, see H5281 (under House Rule 27)

  2. 2025-11-04 Joint

    Hearing rescheduled to 11/04/2025 from 01:00 PM-02:30 PM in A-1 and Virtual Hearing updated to New End Time

  3. 2025-11-04 Joint

    Hearing rescheduled to 11/04/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-1 and Virtual Hearing updated to New End Time

  4. 2025-10-29 Joint

    Hearing scheduled for 11/04/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-1

  5. 2025-02-27 House

    Referred to the committee on The Judiciary

  6. 2025-02-27 Senate

    Senate concurred

  7. House

    Reported by committee to Clerk’s Office for processing, will accompany a study order

Official Summary Text

An Act increasing the dispute limit for small claims court
By Representative Lombardo of Billerica, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1860) of Marc T. Lombardo for legislation to increase the dispute limit for small claims court. The Judiciary.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
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Bill H.1860

SECTION 1. Section 21 of chapter 218 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the figure “$7,000”, in line 6, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $20,000.

SECTION 2. Said section 21 of said chapter 218, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the figure “$7,000”, in line 42, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $20,000.

SECTION 3. Section 22 of said chapter 218, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 2 and 3, the words “$20 for claims of $500 for less and $30 for claims of greater than $500” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- $30 for claims of $500 or less, $40 for claims of greater than $500 but less than or equal to $2000, $90 for claims of greater than $2000 but less than or equal to $5000, $140 for claims greater than $5,000 but less than or equal to $10,000, $250 for claims greater than $10,000 but less than or equal to $15,000 and $500 for claims greater than $15,000.

SECTION 4. Said section 22 of said chapter 218, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the third paragraph.

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