F.W. Webb Co. v. Averett

We transferred this case to this court on our own motion to decide whether the defendant, Melvin E. Averett, was entitled to a hearing on his posttrial motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, Mass. R. Civ. P. 50 (b), 365 Mass. 814 (1974), and for a new trial, Mass. R. Civ. P. 59, 365 Mass. 827 (1974). The defendant requested a hearing, and the trial judge denied the motions without a hearing. In deciding the issue, we are called on to examine Rule 9A of the Rules of the Superior Court (1996), which provides for *626hearings on motions only in certain limited circumstances, and Rule 26…