Bill > H2245

This bill establishes penalties for knowingly filing false allegations in complaints for Abuse Prevention orders, a legal process designed to protect individuals from abuse. Under Chapter 209A, individuals filing such complaints must declare under penalty of perjury that their statements are true. If a court determines that a complaint contains false allegations, the filer can face fines ranging from $100 to $1,000, jail time of two to thirty months, or both. Additionally, the court can order the false accuser to pay the accused party's costs and attorney fees incurred in defending against the false claims, and these remedies are in addition to any other legal options. The bill also extends these penalties to individuals found to have engaged in certain prohibited activities related to these proceedings, as defined in other sections of Massachusetts General Laws chapter 268. Furthermore, for cases involving children, the court can order additional parenting time for the falsely accused parent to compensate for lost time and to help repair any negative impact on the parent-child relationship caused by the false allegations.