Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts

Re: Motion to compel evidence

The other side is getting a second chance to comply with the court. If the court orders it again and they don't comply they may be held in contempt of court.

File the motion to compel. It is reasonable and this may put you in a good light with the court.

Re: Motion to compel evidence

I agree with you 100 percent that the process is ridiculous, that is, a process that is time-consuming and expensive. With

that said, it is a process governed by the Massachusetts Civil Rules of Procedure.

Those rules provide for a three-step process:

1. Write and serve your request for documents.

2. If the docs are not produced, then file a motion to compel (and if you want, a request for fees and costs).

3. If the docs are still not produced, file a MOTION TO SHOW CAUSE WHY THE OPPONENT SHOULD NOT BE

HELD IN CONTEMPT. Then the offending party must both produce or pay or whatever other punishment (sanction) the

judge deems just).

In the MOTION TO SHOW WHY THE OPPONENT SHOULD NOT BE HELD IN CONTEMPT.

Identify yourself.

Ask for sanctions.

You must attach the order in which the judge wrote that the opponent had to produce.

You must attach or file with the motion an affidavit swearing that you did not receive any documents.

Write at the bottom, "SIGNED UNDER THE PAINS AND PENALTIES OF PERJURY.:

In your case, I suspect the judge treated your FIRST motion as a MOTION TO COMPEL even though you did not call it that.

So whoever told you to write a motion to compel was wrong. You already had done it. That is why you got the order to

produce. The opponent HAD ALREADY NOT COMPLIED WITH A COURT ORDER.

With your motion (or the Motion to Compel), you told the judge, THE OTHER SIDE DID NOT COMPLY WITH YOUR

ORDER. THEY DID NOT PRODUCE the documents.

You could have requested in your motion "SANCTIONS" -- that is, $$$ is you have had to spend for attys fees or for your

time (lost wages because out of work, etc.). You should not have had to waste your time.

With the first order the judge said, Get off your butt and produce the documents.

At the time he/she made that order, the judge had no idea as to whether the atty or the opposing party was or was not going

to produce.

So now is the time to file the MOTION TO SHOW CAUSE....

That's it.