New England Trust Co. v. Assessors of Boston

Citation33 N.E.2d 268,308 Mass. 543
PartiesNEW ENGLAND TRUST CO. v. ASSESSORS OF BOSTON.
Decision Date03 April 1941
CourtUnited States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts

308 Mass. 543
33 N.E.2d 268

NEW ENGLAND TRUST CO.
v.
ASSESSORS OF BOSTON.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Suffolk.

April 3, 1941.


Appeal from Appellate Tax Board.

Proceeding by the New England Trust Company, executor, against the Assessors of Boston, before the Appellate Tax Board. From a decision of the board, the New England Trust Company, executor, appeals.

Appeals dismissed.

[33 N.E.2d 268]

Argued before FIELD, C. J., and LUMMUS, QUA, COX, and RONAN, JJ.

W. F. Byrne and E. S. Willis, both of Boston, for taxpayer.


R. H. Hopkins, Asst. Corp. Counsel, of Boston, for Board of Assessors.

C. R. Branch and C. Ryan, both of Boston, amici curiae.

QUA, Justice.

This is an attempt to appeal from a decision of the Appellate Tax Board. Section 13 of chapter 58A of the General Laws (Ter.Ed.) defines and regulates such appeals. There is no right of appeal from the board to this court other than that created by this statute. Hayward v. Board of Assessors of Boston, 304 Mass. 355, 23 N.E.2d 917. The section contains elaborate provisions governing the method of appeal. Among these provisions is this: ‘* * * Each claim of appeal shall set out separately and particularly each error of law asserted to have been made by the board, with precise references to the portions and particulars of the proceedings before the board in which it is alleged that error of law occurred.’ Neither of the two appeals filed in this case complies with this requirement. Neither contains any assignment of error as required by the statute. It follows that the appeals are not properly before us.

Statutes relating to appellate procedure are always construed strictly. Old Colony Street Railway Co. v. Thomas, 205 Mass. 529, 538, 91 N.E. 1006, 18 Ann.Cas. 247; Golden v. Crawshaw, 302 Mass. 343, 344, 19 N.E.2d 67, and cases cited. ‘When definite provision is made by statute respecting the procedure for review by this court of decisions by other tribunals, there must be compliance with such provision.’ Martell v. Moffatt, 276 Mass. 174, 179, 177 N.E. 102, 104. ‘An appeal not taken according to law is not rightly before us and cannot be considered.’ Martin's Case, 231 Mass. 402, 404, 121 N.E. 152, 153. The statute is plain and positive. It contains no exceptions. We are not authorized to excuse compliance with it even in a case where the issues are simple and the grounds of appeal might be surmised without specification. The reasons for scrupulous observance of statutory requirements relating to appeals...

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