Burke v. Commonwealth

This appeal from the grant of summary judgment for the defendants raises the question whether the Commonwealth has discretion to set the hourly rate of reimbursement for attorney’s fees to be recovered by a State trooper entitled to indemnification for legal fees pursuant to G. L. c. 258, § 9A. This action was brought by the trooper, Mark Garrett, and his counsel, Timothy Burke, to whom he had, it is *89alleged, assigned his right to indemnification, after the Commonwealth failed to pay Burke’s bill as submitted. The Commonwealth paid Burke at the rate of $125 per hour although he had sought…