CITIZENS BANK v. ANGEL MARTINEZ (2025)

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER PURSUANT TO RULE 23.0

Following a foreclosure sale, the plaintiff, Citizens Bank, N.A., commenced a summary process action in the Housing Court against the defendants, Angel Martinez, Alice Martinez, and Victor Bonilla. Following a trial, a judgment entered in favor of the plaintiff for possession and damages. The defendants appeal, and we affirm.

The defendants assert that the trial judge committed five errors related to findings of fact. We are unable to review the substance of these claims primarily because the record lacks a transcript of the trial. “The burden is on the appellant to ensure that an adequate record exists for an appellate court to evaluate.” Commonwealth v. Woods, 419 Mass. 366, 371 (1995). See Mass. R. A. P. 8 (a)-(c), as appearing in 481 Mass. 1611 (2019); Mass. R. A. P. 18 (a), as appearing in 481 Mass. 1637 (2019). In the present case, the defendants (who are the appellants) have not met their burden of presenting us with a record of the trial. We are left without any basis to assess the merits of claims that have been raised on appeal. Accordingly, we must affirm.

Judgment affirmed.