Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title VII Chapter 40
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 40, § 2 (2026)

Towns; power to sue and be sued

✓ text as last checked Sept. 2026 (this copy records no edition or section history)
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Section 2. A town may in its corporate capacity sue and be sued by its name, and may appoint necessary agents therefor.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 15 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1966–2026 · leading case: Bd. of Pub. Works v. Bd. of Selectmen, 387 N.E.2d 146 (Mass. 1979).
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Bd. of Pub. Works v. Bd. of Selectmen, 387 N.E.2d 146 (Mass. 1979). · cites it 3× “The appointment of the selectmen as "agents” is *624 traceable to G. L. c. 40, § 2, a statute of long standing which in its present form reads, “A town may in its corporate capacity sue and be sued by its name, and may appoint necessary agents therefor.”
City of Boston v. Smith & Wesson Corp., 12 Mass. L. Rptr. 225 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2000). · cites it 4× “G.L.c. 40, §2. 40 It is well established that cities and towns have authority to initiate suits to recover damages under tort and contract theories.”
Town of Nantucket v. Beinecke, 398 N.E.2d 458 (Mass. 1979). “See G. L. c. 40, § 2; Great Barrington v. Gibbons, 199 Mass.”
Craig Harrison v. Massachusetts Bay Transp. Auth.., 101 Mass. App. Ct. 659 (Mass. App. Ct. 2022). “sue and be sued in its own name, plead and be impleaded"); G. L. c. 40, § 2 (towns may sue and be sued in their own names); G.”
Town of Middleborough v. Middleborough Gas & Elec. Dep't, 664 N.E.2d 25 (Mass. 1996). “G. L. c. 40, § 2. In 1893, pursuant to St.”
Commonwealth v. Demirtshyan, 87 Mass. App. Ct. 737 (Mass. App. Ct. 2015). “See G. L. c. 40, § 2 ID. Meanwhile, a second police officer arrived on the scene.”
Bd. of Selectmen v. Cnty. Commissioners, 422 N.E.2d 787 (Mass. App. Ct. 1981). “See G. L. c. 40, § 2. The judge correctly ruled that G.”
City Manager of Medford v. State Labor Relations Comm'n, 233 N.E.2d 310 (Mass. 1968). “149, § 178G (see fn. 1), to bring this petition in his own name.”
Town of Brookline v. Cnty. Commissioners of the Cnty. of Norfolk, 327 N.E.2d 690 (Mass. 1975). “The county tax is assessed on the town itself under G.”
Dep't of Pub. Welfare v. Town of Billerica, 213 N.E.2d 392 (Mass. 1966). “This petition for a writ of mandamus against the town (see G. L. c. 40, § 2; 1 see also c. 223, §§ 36, and 37, as amended through St.”
Jeffrey a. King v. Conservation Comm'n of Harwich (& a Consol. Case)., No. 24-P-1186 (Mass. App. Ct. Jan. 30, 2026). · cites it 2× “See G. L. c. 40, § 2 ("A town may in its corporate capacity sue and be sued by its name, and may appoint necessary agents therefor").”
City of Boston Delegation v. FERC, No. 16-1081 (D.C. Cir. July 27, 2018). “” Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 40, § 2 (2018). And in practice, the City does in fact sue in its own name.”
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