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INTERNAL PROTOTYPE — NOT LEGAL ADVICE — DO NOT SEND

Taylor v. Beaudry, 82 Mass. App. Ct. 105 (2012)

Citation
Taylor v. Beaudry, 82 Mass. App. Ct. 105 (2012)
Parent Document
Taylor v. Beaudry, 82 Mass. App. Ct. 105 (2012)
Jurisdiction
Massachusetts (state)
Effective Date
2012-07-09

Other Sections in This Document (67)

Full Text

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Nowhere in G. L. c. 186, § 15B, does the Legislature refer to a tenant’s “receipt,” or his or her “receiving” security deposit funds, for purposes of defining the landlord’s corresponding duty to return the deposit to the tenant. The dictionary meaning of the verb form of “return,” with reference to an item, is “to put, . . . send back to [its] original place, . . . [or] repay.” Random House Dictionary of the English Language 1225 (unabridged ed. 1973). The act of sending back the deposit to a tenant, not actual receipt, is what the Act commands a landlord to perform within the time allowed. Proof of mailing provides some certainty in this highly technical statutory context. The court declines the tenant’s invitation to add to or alter the words the Legislature has chosen to employ in the Act.