Case Details

Issues

Control Of Litigation, Status In State Government

Filing State

MA

Court

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Year

1977

Citation

Feeney v. Commonwealth, 366 N.E.2d 1262 (Mass. 1977)

Resolution

Attorney general, rather than insurance commissioner, was entitled to represent the state.

Case Description

State supreme court confirmed “[t]he authority of the attorney general as chief law officer, to assume primary control over the conduct of litigation which involves the interests of the Commonwealth.” This policy protects the interests of the state as a whole as a unitary client, rather than any one of the many potential agency manifestations of the state.