County of Barnstable v. Commonwealth

On September 25, 1990, eleven counties and the town of Nantucket filed this action in the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 3 (1994 ed.). The counties sought a judgment requiring the Commonwealth to pay them the full amount of contract rent for leased courthouse buildings, despite the lack of appropriated funds sufficient to do so. A single justice of this court denied the requested relief and ordered the case transferred pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 4A (1994 ed.), to the Superior Court. On the counties’ appeal, we affirmed the order of the single justice,…