# Jean W. v. Commonwealth

> Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · March 8, 1993 · 414 Mass. 496

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9719314

## Case

- **Full name:** Jean W. & Others vs. Commonwealth & Others
- **Court:** Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
- **Decided:** March 8, 1993
- **Citations:** 414 Mass. 496; 610 N.E.2d 305; 1993 Mass. LEXIS 116
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Opinion of the court
- **Judges:** Liacos, Wilkins, Abrams, Nolan, Lynch, O'Connor, Greaney
- **Cited by:** 84 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9719314

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- concluding that, under Restatement (Second) Of Torts § 320 (1965), the defendants “may have been in a special relationship with [the third person] because of their custody of and control over him”
- noting "[j]udges and commentators criticizing the rule have focused on the unfairness inherent in a rule that results in a duty to none when there is a duty to all, and pointed out the tortured analyses that result when courts seek to avoid such harsh results without squarely …
- stating "[b]y recognizing that the public duty rule is incompatible with the [tort claims] Act, we align ourselves with most jurisdictions that have squarely considered the issue"

## Opinion text

By the Court.
The judgment of the Superior Court dismissing the complaint is reversed. The plaintiffs shall have thirty days from the date of the issuance of the rescript to file an amended complaint in the Superior Court. The case is remanded to the Superior Court for further proceedings.
So ordered.
Separate opinions of Chief Justice Liacos; Justice Wilkins, with whom Justice Abrams joins; Justice O’Connor, with whom Justices Nolan and Lynch join; and Justice Greaney appear below.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9719314. Public record. Not legal advice.