Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XVII Chapter 121B
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 121B, § 13 (2026)

Operating agencies; contract and tort liability; member's personal liability; relocation of utility facilities

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 13. An operating agency shall be liable in contract or in tort in the same manner as a private corporation. The members, employees, officers and agents of an operating agency shall not be liable as such on its contracts or for torts not committed or directly authorized by them nor shall said members be liable for any negligent or wrongful act or omission for which the operating agency would be liable under applicable rules of law, in which event any action either civil or criminal against the operating agency shall be the exclusive remedy for any injured party. The property or funds of an operating agency shall not be subject to attachment or to levy and sale on execution, but if such agency refuses to pay a judgment entered against it in any court of competent jurisdiction, the superior court, sitting within and for the county in which the agency is situated, may, by writ of mandamus, direct the treasurer of such agency to pay such judgment. The real estate of such an agency shall not be subject to liens under chapter two hundred and fifty-four, but the provisions of sections twenty-eight and twenty-nine of chapter one hundred and forty-nine shall be applicable to any construction work by such agencies.

An operating agency shall reimburse the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and every railroad corporation for all reasonable costs and expenses incurred by the said transportation authority or such railroad corporation to relocate such of their respective facilities as are required to be removed as part of a project being undertaken pursuant to this chapter by such operating agency and as are necessary for the continuance of the common carrier services performed by said transportation authority or such railroad corporation. ''Facilities'', as used in this paragraph, shall mean poles, tracks, switches, wires, conduits, cables, signals and structures and in addition thereto equipment appurtenant to any of the foregoing.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9 cases, 1975–2019 · leading case: Lafayette Place Assocs. v. Boston Redevelopment Auth., 694 N.E.2d 820 (Mass. 1998).
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Lafayette Place Assocs. v. Boston Redevelopment Auth., 694 N.E.2d 820 (Mass. 1998). · cites it 3× “And because the BRA’s *534 enabling statute, G. L. c. 121B, § 13, which preexisted c. 258, provided that the BRA shall be “liable .”
Chelsea Hous. Auth. v. McLaughlin, 125 N.E.3d 711 (Mass. 2019). “See G. L. c. 121B, § 13. CHA does not challenge the dismissal on appeal.”
Perez v. Boston Hous. Auth., 400 N.E.2d 1231 (Mass. 1980). “BHA’s Liability Established. Although in certain respects a public body, 22 BHA in carrying on its housing func- *728 tians is submissible to and must abide by the ordinary substantive law of the Commonwealth — the rules of contract, tort, and so forth.”
Cont'l Bronze Co. v. Salvo & Armstrong Steel Co., 397 N.E.2d 1143 (Mass. App. Ct. 1979). “149, § 29, is made applicable to projects built by housing authorities by virtue of G. L. c. 121B, § 13. 5 “NOW, THE CONDITION OF THIS OBLIGATION is such that if the subcontractor shall faithfully perform the subcontract and shall indemnify and hold harmless the general…”
Nantasket Beachfront Condos., LLC v. Hull Redevelopment Auth., 32 N.E.3d 318 (Mass. App. Ct. 2015). “G. L. c. 121B, § 13, inserted by St. 1969, c.”
Sardella Constr. Co. v. Braintree Hous. Auth., 329 N.E.2d 762 (Mass. App. Ct. 1975). “” See G. L. c. 121B, § 13, which reads, in pertinent part: “An operating agency [defined in G.”
PAUL SARDELLA CONSTR. v. Braintree Hous. Auth., 329 N.E.2d 762 (Mass. App. Ct. 1975). “" [6] See G.L.c. 121B, § 13, which reads, in pertinent part: "An operating agency [defined in G.”
Chelsea Hous. Auth. v. Cordero, 102 N.E.3d 428 (Mass. App. Ct. 2018). · cites it 3× “The board members moved to dismiss on several grounds, arguing in essence that a public body such as CHA cannot bring such claims against its public board members and that, in any event, the board members were immune from suit under G. L. c. 121B, § 13. The board members…”
EIC Dev., LLC v. Mystic Valley Dev. Comm'n, 16 Mass. L. Rptr. 138 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2003). “” G.L.c. 121B, §13 (BRA Enabling Act). Compare with MVDC Enabling Act at § 11(h)(1) (‘The commission shall be liable in contract or in tort in the same manner as a private corporation”).”
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.