Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 231, § 85W (2026)

Officers and directors of charitable corporations; tort liability

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 85W. Except as provided otherwise in this section and in section eighty-five V, no person who serves without compensation in excess of $500 per year, other than reimbursement for actual expenses, as an officer, director or trustee of any nonprofit charitable organization including those corporations qualified under 26 USC section 501(c)(3) shall be liable for any civil damages as a result of any acts or omissions relating solely to the performance of his duties as an officer, director or trustee; provided, however, that the immunity conferred by this section shall not apply to any acts or omissions intentionally designed to harm or to any grossly negligent acts or omissions which result in harm to the person. Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting or modifying any existing legal basis for determining the liability, or any defense thereto, of any person not covered by the immunity conferred by this section.

Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting or modifying the liability of any person subject to this section for acts or omissions which are committed in the course of activities primarily commercial in nature even though carried on to obtain revenue to be used for charitable purposes, nor for any cause of action arising out of such person's operation of an automobile.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 12 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1993–2026 · leading case: Lyon v. Morphew, 424 Mass. 828 (Mass. 1997).

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Lyon v. Morphew, 424 Mass. 828 (Mass. 1997). “The Legislature limited the apphcation of G. L. c. 231, § 85W, by stating that “[n]othing in this section shah be construed as affecting or modifying any existing legal basis for determining the liability, or any defense thereto, of any person not covered by the immunity…”

Morrison v. Lennett, 616 N.E.2d 92 (Mass. 1993). “345, inserting G. L. c. 231, § 85W, is consistent with our interpretation.”

Lynch v. Roxbury Comprehensive Cmty. Health Ctr., Inc., 114 N.E.3d 1021 (Mass. App. Ct. 2018). · cites it 8× “§ 14503 (2012), and G. L. c. 231, § 85W. A Superior Court judge concluded that these statutes applied to Wage Act claims.”

Tessa Wolfe & Another v. John Budzyna & Another. (Mass. App. Ct. 2023). · cites it 2× “0 On appeal from an order of the Superior Court, the individual defendants claim error in the denial of their motion for summary judgment, which sought dismissal of the claims against them on the basis of immunity under G. L. c. 231, § 85W (the Charitable Immunity Statute).”

Khoda v. Bangladesh Ass'n of New England, Inc. (Mass. 2026). · cites it 2× “231, § 85W ("no person who serves without compensation .”

Doe v. Braco, 15 Mass. L. Rptr. 43 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2002). · cites it 3× “Mercer argues that he is immune from liability under G.L.c. 231, §85W. Absent unequivocal direction requiring retroactivity, civil statutes which affect substantive rights are commonly treated as operating prospectively.”

Shulse v. W. New England Univ. (D. Mass. 2020). “Nowhere in her opposition does Plaintiff respond to Defendants’ arguments that the Board is shielded from liability under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 231, § 85W, the federal Volunteer Protection Act, or Mass.”

Nadal-Ginard v. Child.'s Hosp. Corp., 4 Mass. L. Rptr. 506 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1995). · cites it 2× “Finally, defendants argue that those individual defendants who are unpaid trustees of the Hospital, a charitable institution, are immune to suit pursuant to G.L.c. 231, §85W, and that Children’s charitable immunity caps any recovery against it at $20,000, pursuant to G.”

G.R. ex rel. G.W. v. Johnson, 6 Mass. L. Rptr. 4 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1996). · cites it 2× “Indeed, part of the court’s reasoning as to why the $20,000 limit was not applicable to claims against individual trustees was the fact that the legislature had subsequently protected such individuals in another section, G.L.c. 231, §85W, a section which is comparable to the…”

Patriarca v. Ctr. for Living & Working, Inc., 10 Mass. L. Rptr. 486 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1999). · cites it 2× “Engberg, Manning and Ewald, members of the Board of Directors, seek dismissal of the claims against them pursuant to the immunity provisions of G.L.c. 231, §85W which provides that “. .”

GIARDI v. Dunning, 563 F. Supp. 2d 305 (D. Mass. 2008). “Two weeks later, the Legislature passed Mass. Gen. L. c. 231, § 85W which reads: Except as provided otherwise in this section and in section eighty-five V, no person who serves without compensation, other than reimbursement for actual expenses, as an officer, director or trustee…”

LaFleur v. Cicconi, 13 Mass. L. Rptr. 647 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2001). “Negligence and Gross Negligence as to Father Masciocchi Father Masciocchi argues that he is immune from liability based on G.L.c. 231, §85W, which provides, in pertinent part: [N]o person who serves without compensation, other than reimbursement for actual expenses, as an…”

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