Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 151a - Unemployment Insurance
Section 42 - Judicial Review; Procedures; Appeals; Rules

Section 42. The commissioner or any interested person aggrieved by any decision in any proceeding before the board of review may obtain judicial review of such decision by commencing within thirty days of the date of mailing of such decision, a civil action in the district court within the judicial district in which he lives, or is or was last employed, or has his usual place of business, and in such proceeding, every other party to the proceeding before the board shall be made a defendant. If an appeal to the board of review is deemed denied pursuant to subsection (a) of section forty-one because the board failed to act upon such appeal, judicial review may be obtained by commencing a civil action as prescribed in the preceding sentence, except that the time for commencing such action shall run from the date such appeal is deemed denied. The commissioner shall be deemed to have been a party to any such proceeding before the board. The complaint shall state the grounds upon which such review is sought. The plaintiff shall serve a copy of the complaint upon each defendant by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, within seven days after commencing the action for judicial review.
The commissioner shall make every reasonable effort to file with the court a certified copy of the decision of the board of review, including all documents and a transcript of all testimony taken at the hearing before said board or the commissioner as the case may be, within twenty-eight days after service of the complaint upon the commissioner or within twenty-eight days after the commencement of the action for judicial review by the commissioner. Each defendant shall file an answer within twenty-eight days after receipt of the complaint, except that the commissioner may, by way of answer, file in court within such time period a certified copy of the record of the proceeding under review.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, or if inconsistent with the provisions of this section, such proceeding shall be governed by the Rules of Civil Procedure for the district courts and the municipal court of the city of Boston. The findings and decisions of the board shall be reviewed in accordance with the standards for review provided in paragraph (7) of section fourteen of chapter thirty A. Any proceeding under this section shall be given precedence over all other civil cases.
An appeal may be taken from the decision of the justice of the district court directly to the appeals court. Notice of appeal shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the district court within thirty days after entry of the judgment by the clerk. The completion of such appeal shall be made in accordance with the Massachusetts Rules of Appellate Procedure. Benefits shall be paid or denied in accordance with the decision of the trial court justice during the pendency of such appeal.

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