Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 12, § 8 (2026)

Due application of charity funds enforced

✓ current as of July 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 8. The attorney general shall enforce the due application of funds given or appropriated to public charities within the commonwealth and prevent breaches of trust in the administration thereof.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 42 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1926–2025 · leading case: Est. of Moulton v. Puopolo, 5 N.E.3d 908 (Mass. 2014).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Est. of Moulton v. Puopolo, 5 N.E.3d 908 (Mass. 2014). · cites it 3× “See G. L. c. 12, § 8; Bello v. South Shore Hosp.”

DeGiacomo v. City of Quincy, 63 N.E.3d 365 (Mass. 2016). · cites it 2× “Quincy and the Society contend that preclusion is appropriate because, where the Adams Fund is a public charitable trust, the only necessary party to the equity proceeding was the Attorney General, who was in privity with the School based on a statutory responsibility under G.”

Squeri v. Mount Ida Coll., 954 F.3d 56 (1st Cir. 2020). “See Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 12, § 8 ("The attorney general shall enforce the due application of funds given or appropriated to public charities within the commonwealth and prevent breaches of trust in the administration thereof.”

Bello v. South Shore Hosp., 429 N.E.2d 1011 (Mass. 1981). · cites it 2× “Even if the hospital’s decision were in violation of its by-laws, and we express no opinion one way or the other, the proper party to enforce the bylaws, aside from a member of the corporation, is the Attorney General in the exercise of his supervisory power over public…”

Maffei v. Roman Catholic Archbishop, 449 Mass. 235 (Mass. 2007). “See G. L. c. 12, § 8. 20 Although it is not clear whether the judge’s ruling on standing applied also to Hanafin, *245 on appeal the defendant urges that we also deny Hanafin standing to bring her claim.”

Attorney Gen. v. Sch. Comm. of Essex, 439 N.E.2d 770 (Mass. 1982). “3 (1982), we shall consider the issues raised because the Attorney General, who is the officer with standing to raise these challenges, see G. L. c. 12, §§ 8, 8A-8M, is a party to this action.”

Dillaway v. Burton, 153 N.E. 13 (Mass. 1926). · cites it 2× “Brigham are trustees of a charitable trust, and it is their duty to pay over to the hospital corporation the income which they receive in accordance with the terms of the will.”

Harrison v. Marcus, 486 N.E.2d 710 (Mass. 1985). “The defendants are the heirs of Irving K. Taylor, the executor of Taylor’s estate and of the estate of his deceased daughter (the defendants), and the Attorney General.”

Lopez v. Medford Cmty. Ctr., Inc., 424 N.E.2d 229 (Mass. 1981). “This was the rule at common law and it is currently codified at G. L. c. 12, § 8. Ames v. Attorney Gen., supra at 250.”

Weaver v. Wood, 425 Mass. 270 (Mass. 1997). “” G. L. c. 12, § 8. 9 We consistently have held that only the Attorney General can bring an action alleging the misuse of charitable assets.”

Harvard Climate Just. Coalition v. President & Fellows of Harvard Coll., 336 Educ. L. Rep. 445 (Mass. App. Ct. 2016). · cites it 2× “The plaintiffs recognize that their challenge to Harvard’s investments invokes the exclusive standing of the Attorney General under G. L. c. 12, § 8, inserted by St. 1979, c.”

Loring v. Marshall, 484 N.E.2d 1315 (Mass. 1985). · cites it 2× “The present codification, G.L.c. 12, § 8 (1984 ed.), provides: "The attorney general shall enforce the due application of funds given or appropriated to public charities within the commonwealth and prevent breaches of trust in the administration thereof.”

Show all 42 citing cases →

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.