In 2025 a wedding DJ sued a woman in small claims court after she allegedly reneged on an agreement for services.
The DJ won a $987 judgment which the woman appealed to a trial judge in district court.
The DJ unsuccessfully argued that the trial judge should not hearing the appeal because it was untimely and the woman did not submit an appeal bond.
After a bench trial, the judge found in favor of the woman.
The DJ first sought to appeal the decision by filing a 211/3 petition for extraordinary relief with the superior court.
The superior court rejected the petition and the DJ appealed to a single justice of the SJC.
The justice denied the petition and the relentless DJ appealed that denial to the full SJC.
Today the SJC issued a slip opinion upholding the 211/3 dismissal:
We have repeatedly stated that a plaintiff who chooses to proceed in the small claims session waives the right to appeal from any adverse judgment, and likewise is not entitled to invoke this court’s extraordinary power of general superintendence in lieu of an appeal to compel review of the judgment.
The full text of the slip opinion is attached below.