Chelsea Hous. Auth. v. McLaughlin

**580*713Under the equitable common-law doctrine of in pari delicto, a plaintiff who has committed fraud cannot recover damages resulting from the negligence of an accountant in failing to detect the plaintiff's fraud, unless such relief is required as a matter of public policy. See Merrimack College v. KPMG LLP, 480 Mass. 614, 625, 108 N.E.3d 430 (2018). In Merrimack College, we held that, where the plaintiff is a corporation, it is barred under the doctrine from recovering damages for the negligence of its accounting firm in failing to detect the corporation's fraudulent conduct only if the…