Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly: New Rule on Arguing Damages

ADOPTION OF CIVIL RULE 51(a) ON CLOSING ARGUMENTS goes into effect on March 1, 2022. The amendment to the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure retains the previous language of the old rule in terms of time allotted for closing arguments closing arguments.

“It’s unreasonable to force a plaintiff to divulge numbers before they’ve heard all the testimony, all the evidence, and the defendant’s closing,” Sheff says. “Maybe defense counsel makes a very good or a very bad closing that raises or lowers the value of a case. The plaintiff should be free to consider all the evidence and those arguments prior to disclosing the number.”