Belfar v. Lipsett

Summary

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the denial of William Belfar’s petition for extraordinary relief under G. L. c. 211, § 3, concerning an impoundment order in a Probate and Family Court case. The court held that Belfar failed to satisfy S.J.C. Rule 2:21 because he had not sought relief from the impoundment order in the Probate Court or pursued available review under G. L. c. 231, § 118, first paragraph, or the applicable impoundment rules. The court treated the impoundment order as interlocutory and affirmed the single justice’s judgment.

Holdings

1. Belfar failed to meet his burden under S.J.C. Rule 2:21 (2) because he did not demonstrate that adequate review could not be obtained on appeal from a final adverse judgment or through other available means.
2. A party seeking to challenge an impoundment order was required in the first instance to seek review from a single justice of the Appeals Court rather than directly invoking the Supreme Judicial Court's extraordinary superintendence power under G. L. c. 211, § 3.
3. The impoundment order did not automatically terminate merely because it was not expressly incorporated into the first modification judgment.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Belfar satisfied S.J.C. Rule 2:21 by showing that review of the interlocutory impoundment decision could not adequately be obtained through an appeal from a final judgment or other available means.
2. Whether Belfar could invoke G. L. c. 211, § 3, without first seeking relief from the impoundment order in the Probate and Family Court and review by a single justice of the Appeals Court.
3. Whether the impoundment order automatically ended because it was not expressly incorporated into the first modification judgment.

Disposition

affirmed