Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Massachusetts

Hello. You should try contacting your local police department to see if they will assist you in returning to the residence to get your belongings (you can tell them that you do not want any trouble with your ex-girlfriend and that is why you are requesting a police escort). If the police do not want to get involved (they do not have to), then you can try sending her a letter telling her that you will take her to small claims court for the non-returned items (MA small claims court is only up to $2,000, so if the value of the items is more than that, you will have to threaten her with a regular lawsuit). You might want to speak with a local attorney regarding these matters -- you can even ask an attorney to prepare the court paperwork for you and sort of "direct" you in which way to proceed with these matters and pay the attorney a smaller fee than you would normally pay if the attorney handled the entire case from start to finish (this is called "Limited Assistance Representation" and has just become available in Massachusetts). One thing is certain -- you should not call, email and text message her too much because she might try to claim that you are harassing her or stalking her and she might call the police herself. So, you would be better off here to ask the police to help YOU first or to get an attorney involved. GOOD LUCK. -- Mary Meaden, Esq. Brockton, MA

The small claims court limit in Massachusetts is now $7,000.

I agree.

This is a risky situation.

A legal action, short of a third party who can negotiate, is your sole solution.

BE CAREFUL.