Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 231 § 85G

Current through Chapters 1 to 249 and Chapters 253 to 255 of the 2024 Legislative Session
Section 231:85G - Parents' liability for willful acts of minor children

Parents of an unemancipated child under the age of eighteen and over the age of seven years shall be liable in a civil action for any willful act committed by said child which results in injury or death to another person or damage to the property of another, which shall include any damages resulting from a larceny or attempted larceny of property as set forth in section thirty A of chapter two hundred and sixty-six, damage to cemetery property or damage to any state, county or municipal property or damage as set forth in sections one hundred and twenty-six A and one hundred and twenty-six B of chapter two hundred and sixty-six. This section shall not apply to a parent who, as a result of a decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, does not have custody of such child at the time of the commission of the tort. Recovery under this section shall be limited to the amount of proved loss or damage but in no event shall it exceed five thousand dollars.

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 231, § 85G