Statute of Limitations for Trespass to Chattels / Conversion in Massachusetts

6 min read

Published September 11, 2025 • Updated March 22, 2026 • By DocketMath Team

Partially verified

older_than_packet

Open the live calculator View on primary source

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws change frequently — verify all citations with current official sources.

Overview

In Massachusetts, claims involving trespass to chattels and conversion commonly fall under Massachusetts’ general civil statute of limitations for certain tort actions. DocketMath’s Statute of Limitations calculator is designed to help you turn that rule into a usable deadline based on a key date you provide (such as the date of the wrongful conduct or the date the injury was discovered, if relevant).

This page focuses on the default limitations period for these types of property-tort claims in Massachusetts. DocketMath does not treat trespass to chattels and conversion as having a separate, claim-type-specific deadline here—there’s no claim-type-specific sub-rule reflected in the Massachusetts statute rule set used for this calculator. Instead, the analysis uses the general/default period.

Note: Deadlines can be affected by case-specific doctrines like accrual rules or tolling. DocketMath helps you model the baseline statute, but it can’t replace a case-specific legal analysis.

Deadline example

For a US-MA Trespass to Chattels / Conversion limitations check, use the verified limitations period from the current rule packet: 3 years. The authority packet cites Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 2A (https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIII/TitleV/Chapter260/Section2A).

Example inputs:

Accrual date: 2024-04-25
Filing date checked: 2026-04-25

Calculation:

Start with the accrual date.
Add 3 years.
The example deadline is 2027-04-25.

This example is generated from the verified facts packet rather than freeform prose. Confirm tolling, discovery rules, and claim-specific exceptions before relying on the date.

Worked example

Example inputs:

Accrual date: 2024-04-25
Filing date checked: 2026-04-25

Calculation:

Start with the accrual date.
Add 3 years.
The example deadline is 2027-04-25.

This example is generated from the verified facts packet rather than freeform prose. Confirm tolling, discovery rules, and claim-specific exceptions before relying on the date.

Step-by-step deadline check

Example inputs:

Accrual date: 2024-04-25
Filing date checked: 2026-04-25

Calculation:

Start with the accrual date.
Add 3 years.
The example deadline is 2027-04-25.

This example is generated from the verified facts packet rather than freeform prose. Confirm tolling, discovery rules, and claim-specific exceptions before relying on the date.

Worked example

Example inputs:

Accrual date: 2024-04-25
Filing date checked: 2026-04-25

Calculation:

Start with the accrual date.
Add 3 years.
The example deadline is 2027-04-25.

This example is generated from the verified facts packet rather than freeform prose. Confirm tolling, discovery rules, and claim-specific exceptions before relying on the date.

Worked example

Example inputs:

Accrual date: 2024-04-25
Filing date checked: 2026-04-25

Calculation:

Start with the accrual date.
Add 3 years.
The example deadline is 2027-04-25.

This example is generated from the verified facts packet rather than freeform prose. Confirm tolling, discovery rules, and claim-specific exceptions before relying on the date.

Deadline example

Example inputs:

Accrual date: 2024-04-25
Filing date checked: 2026-04-25

Calculation:

Start with the accrual date.
Add 3 years.
The example deadline is 2027-04-25.

This example is generated from the verified facts packet rather than freeform prose. Confirm tolling, discovery rules, and claim-specific exceptions before relying on the date.

Statute citation

Massachusetts’ general/default statute of limitations applied here is:

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 277, § 63
General limitations period: 6 years

Because the available rule set for this Massachusetts calculator does not identify a separate claim-type-specific sub-rule for trespass to chattels or conversion, the 6-year period above is the default rule used for computing the deadline.

Use the calculator

Use DocketMath’s Statute of Limitations calculator to generate a deadline based on the Massachusetts default rule (6 years, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 277, § 63).

Primary CTA: **/tools/statute-of-limitations

When you use the tool, the most important input is usually the start date (the date you treat as when the claim accrued). The calculator then adds 6 years to produce the estimated end of the limitations window.

Deadline example

Example inputs:

Accrual date: 2024-04-25
Filing date checked: 2026-04-25

Calculation:

Start with the accrual date.
Add 3 years.
The example deadline is 2027-04-25.

This example is generated from the verified facts packet rather than freeform prose. Confirm tolling, discovery rules, and claim-specific exceptions before relying on the date.

Step-by-step deadline check

Example inputs:

Accrual date: 2024-04-25
Filing date checked: 2026-04-25

Calculation:

Start with the accrual date.
Add 3 years.
The example deadline is 2027-04-25.

This example is generated from the verified facts packet rather than freeform prose. Confirm tolling, discovery rules, and claim-specific exceptions before relying on the date.

Sources and references

Start with the primary authority for Massachusetts and confirm the effective date before relying on any output. If the rule has been amended, update the inputs and rerun the calculation.

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 2

Deadline example

Example inputs:

Accrual date: 2024-04-25
Filing date checked: 2026-04-25

Calculation:

Start with the accrual date.
Add 3 years.
The example deadline is 2027-04-25.

This example is generated from the verified facts packet rather than freeform prose. Confirm tolling, discovery rules, and claim-specific exceptions before relying on the date.

See your deadline