Court Orders Contractor to Pay Attorney’s Fees Under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 231, § 6F

Jon Friedmann and Casey Sack successfully secured a decision under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 231, § 6F to have the plaintiff pay a portion of the firm’s attorneys’ fees.

The decision arises from a residential construction dispute. Under Chapter 231, § 6F, the court may impose sanctions against a party represented by counsel whose claims are “wholly insubstantial, frivolous and not advanced in good faith.” A party’s claim is frivolous where “there is an absence of legal or factual basis for the claim, and if the claim is without even a colorable basis in law.”

The defendants asserted that the instant action should not have been filed where there was no good faith basis to assert a claim for a mechanic’s lien and a federal action had already been filed by the defendants, through which plaintiff’s remaining claims could have been asserted. Chapter 231, § 6F is extraordinary relief which is rarely granted. The statute is punitive, and its consequences are unforgiving. The court nonetheless found in defendants’ favor. The court adopted an earlier case ruling and found that “there was no good faith basis for the plaintiff’s motion to amend” and awarded partial costs and fees to Rudolph Friedmann LLP.