Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts – May 31, 2012
Facts: The plaintiff was injured in an automobile
accident involving an MBTA bus driver on July 15, 2005. The plaintiff filed
suit against the MBTA and the bus driver on October 26, 2005. A jury determined
that the accident resulted from the employee’s negligence and awarded the plaintiff
damages. On September 20, 2009, judgment was entered for the plaintiff in the
sum of $661,784.00 with interest thereon and the plaintiff’s costs. A month
later, on November 1, 2009, under amendments to the Massachusetts Tort Claims
Act, the MBTA became a “public employer.” The Torts Claims Act provides that
public employers are immune from the award of interest and costs. The MBTA then
filed a motion seeking relief from so much of the judgment that required it to
pay interest and costs.
Issue: Whether
the 2009 amendments apply retroactively, allowing the MBTA the protections of
public employer status against a plaintiff whose claims accrued prior to
November 1, 2009.
No. Whether a statute is to be applied to events occurring
prior to the date on which it took effect is in the first instance a question
of legislative intent. Where the legislature has not spoken directly on the
issue of retroactivity, as in this case, there is a presumption that the
legislation commonly looks to the future, not to the past. Therefore, the
plaintiff is entitled to interest and costs prior to November 1, 2009. However,
the plaintiff obtained no vested right to the continuing accrual of interest on
or after November 1, 2009, when the MBTA became a public employer and was thus
protected by the Torts Claims Act. The plaintiff is entitled to interest and
costs accruing between the date of commencement of the action and November 1,
2009, but may not recover any such sums accruing on or after November 1. (JT)
