Costello v. Board of Appeals

Thomas Costello appeals from a judgment of the county court denying his petition for relief under G. L. c. 211, § 3. Costello alleged that the defendants, various Lexington town boards and officials, were in civil contempt of certain court judgments and that the clerk of the Land Court had refused to docket his complaint for contempt or to issue a summons. The single justice denied relief without a hearing.

We agree with Costello that, as a general rule, the clerk should have accepted and docketed the complaint for contempt. “The clerk acts as ‘a ministerial officer of the courts . . . [who]…