Harness Tracks Security, Inc. v. Bay State Raceway, Inc.

The plaintiff seeks payment for services rendered under a written contract with the defendant. Recovery was denied because the plaintiff had no license under G. L. c. 147, §§ 22-30, to conduct a private detective business in Massachusetts. We agree with the trial judge that the statute was violated, but, applying the criteria laid down in Town Planning & Eng’r Assocs. v. Amesbury Specialty Co., 369 Mass. 737, 745-746 (1976), we hold that recovery is not barred. On analogous principles, we also hold that recovery is not barred by the plaintiff’s breach of the contract in failure to obtain a…