Car Repos in Massachusetts: Police Involvement

Car repossession is a private act and cannot be aided by the police. You have the right to demand that a repossession agent leave your property and not take your car. In turn, they have the right to go to court and get a judge's order compelling you to turnover the car if you are behind in payments. If they have such an order (which is very, very rare), a sheriff or constable, and not the police, will come to your residence to take your car. At this point, because of the judge's order, you do not have the right to object. However, it is very rare that a car lender will have one of these so-called "replevin" orders.

If you decide to order a repossession agent off your property and they refuse to go, you should call the police. But be ready for trouble. Often the police are inadequately trained to deal with repossessions. They will sometimes try to judge the dispute and may even order you to hand over your car keys. This is illegal. Contact us if this happens to you. The job of the police if they come to your residence is to remove the trespasser from your property, not act as a judge in a driveway court.

*Note: If your car has been repossessed in Massachusetts, we might be able to help. However, due to high call volume after I posted information here about Massachusetts car repossession, we must first receive the completed form found here: http://www.mass-legal.com/repo_quest.asp. We will review your matter confidentially and free of charge.

Top Complaints from Massachusetts Consumers

Boston.com recently compiled this list of the top consumer complaints in Massachusetts. It's an interesting list because in addition to the perennial favorites--car dealers, home improvement contractors, debt collectors, etc.--two list items relate to foreclosure and loan modification services. It's the wild, wild west right now for those services, with shady operators opening businesses preying consumers needing legitimate relief from burdensome mortgages. Whenever there is a boom in demand for something, scam artists emerge with big promises and flashy ads to trick the credulous public. Be very careful if you are considering answering a TV or radio ad for mortgage-related services. Instead, consider contacting a trusted referral source for a recommendation, or contacting a licensed and insured Massachusetts attorney.

Fraud or Trickery in Massachusetts Car Repossession

As I previously wrote, in the course of a Massachusetts car repossession, it routine (and illegal) for repossession agents to come onto your property late at night, wake you up, and demand your car keys. This is illegal because repo men cannot come onto your property at all or at any time to repossess your vehicle without getting your permission ahead of time.
However, another common illegal practice is that repo agents, when bargaining for your keys, will cross the line and lie to you about what will happen if you don't comply. The ones I have heard most frequently are:
1. We'll damage your car if we have to tow it. First, they cannot tow a car out of your driveway without your permission. Second, they are not allowed to damage your car even if they do. This statement, in itself, subjects a repossession company to liability under the Massachusetts Division of Banks regulations.
2. The creditor will charge you more money if we have to tow the car. Well, taking the car over your objection is illegal in the first place--both as a statutory trespass and a breach of the peace--so as creditor should not be able to impose a charge on your for an illegal act.
3. If you don't give us the keys, we'll just take the car anyway (or call the police). That's a similar threat to those above, but its simplicity and frequency draws attention to a basic fact. A repo agent has no right to do that and due to the the Massachusetts Division of Banks regulations has no right to even make a false threat. If they actually do call the police, this is illegal as a breach of the peace.
False threats, lies, and trickery are not always enough on which to base a case. However, such unlawful act are almost accompanied by others.

*Note: If your car has been repossessed in Massachusetts, we might be able to help. However, due to high call volume after I posted information here about Massachusetts car repossession, we must first receive the completed form found here: http://www.mass-legal.com/repo_quest.asp. We will review your matter confidentially and free of charge.

Late Night Car Repossession

Car repossessions in Massachusetts are often done at odd times. Just this past week, we received one call about a repossession at 1:00 a.m. and another at 3:00 a.m. Why do repossessions happen so late? Is this legal? I'll try to answer both of those questions here.
Why are repossessions done late at night or early in the morning when people are sleeping? The industry would likely say that it's because more cars are at people's homes when people are sleeping. This makes some sense. They would also likely say that it is easier to avoid confrontation when people are sleeping. While it is true that cars are most often at home during the night, they are also often home in the early to later evening when people awake but home for the night. Moreover, the notion about it being easier to avoid conflict while someone is sleeping is turned on its head in Massachusetts. Here's why. In Massachusetts, we have a law that says that the repo man cannot come onto property you own or rent to take your vehicle without your permission. Consequently, a repo man will usually wake you up and attempt to get the keys from you rather than simply tow the car from your driveway. That means getting you up out of bed in your pajamas for a late-night confrontation: Hardly a scenario designed to avoid trouble. Even putting aside the issue regarding the time of a repossession: this practice is generally illegal because a repo man needs your permission before he steps onto your property, not after.
So the bottom line is that a repo man cannot come onto your property late at night--or at any other time--to take your car without your permission. However, if your car is parked on the street, there is likely no issue regarding what time of day or night your car is towed away.

You can find more about car repossession law in Massachusetts here.

*Note: If your car has been repossessed in Massachusetts, we might be able to help. However, due to high call volume after I posted information here about Massachusetts car repossession, we must first receive the completed form found here: http://www.mass-legal.com/repo_quest.asp. We will review your matter confidentially and free of charge.

Bankruptcy Filings Up 25 Percent in Mass.

Here's the article link.
Bankruptcy filings up 25 percent, year-over-year. "Massachusetts bankruptcy filings spiked 25 percent in the first half of the year when compared to the same period in 2009."

Defense of Marriage Act Declared Unconstitutional

The big legal news of the day is that Judge Tauro of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (Boston) declared the federal Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA"), 1 USC sec. 7, unconstitutional. The case is styled Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, et al. (link opens .pdf opinion). The case was brought by same-sex spouses married under Massachusetts law. The Court held that "DOMA as applied to Plaintiffs violates the equal protection principles embodied in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution."

On the federal level, DOMA limits the recognition of marital rights to heterosexual spouses. The Court held that Congress' reasons for enacting the law bore no rational relationship to the goals it set. The Court also expressed a strong sentiment that the federal government should stay out of the business of defining marriage because that is the traditional and exclusive purview of the States.

I recently wrote about same-sex spouses and some of the special issues they face in bankruptcy, such as that DOMA has been interpreted to bar such spouses from filing joint bankruptcy petitions which, among other things, increases the overall cost of bankruptcy. That may change now, and I would like to bring a test case if presented with the right clients. Judge Tauro's opinion is not binding on the bankruptcy court and it may yet be appealed. However, it broke new ground and will carry considerable weight when used to support a challenge to a joint bankruptcy petition on behalf of same-sex spouses.

Bankruptcy Meeting Locations in Massachusetts

All bankruptcies involve a court meeting. Where that meeting takes place depends on the place you live at the time your bankruptcy case is filed. It's sadly a little confusing, and people ask about it all the time, so I'll set it all out here as clearly as possible.

Chapter 7 cases, Boston:
If you live in Suffolk or Norfolk County, you will have your court meeting in Boston.
If you live in Essex County, but not in Andover, Boxboro, Bradford, Haverhill, Lawrence, Methuen, or North Andover, then you will also have your meeting in Boston.
If you live in any of the following towns in Middlesex County you will also have your meeting in Boston: Arlington, Ashland, Belmont, Burlington, Cambridge, Everett, Framingham, Holliston, Lexington, Lincoln, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Natick, Newton, North Reading, Reading, Sherborn, Somerville, Stoneham, Wakefield, Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, Weston, Wilmington, Winchester and Woburn.
Chapter 7 cases, Brockton:
If you live in Plymouth, Bristol, Barnstable, Dukes, or Nantucket county, you will have your court meeting in Brockton.
Chapter 7 cases, Worcester:
If you live in Worcester county, you will have your court meeting in Worcester.
If you live in Andover, Boxboro, Bradford, Haverhill, Lawrence, Methuen, or North Andover (in Essex county), you will have your court meeting in Worcester.
If you live in any town in Middlesex county except for those listed above, you also will have your court meeting in Worcester. This is the one that gets people because quite a few towns relatively close to Boston end up getting assigned to Worcester (Concord, just for example).
Chapter 13 cases:
Chapter 13 cases are just the same as Chapter 7 cases except that no one goes to Brockton. If you would be assigned to Brockton, you are just assigned to Boston.

That's all. There are other rules involving Springfield, Pittsfield, etc., but I have not idea what these are we do not practice in Western Mass.
The specific meeting locations in Boston, Brockton, and Worcester change from time to time. Current information about the bankruptcy court locations in Massachusetts can be found via a google search or by clicking on the link in this sentence (which goes to our main bankruptcy web site).