── Khoda v. Bangladesh Association of New England, Inc. ──
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Date: June 03, 2026
Category: General
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SJC-13857
MAHABUB KHODA vs. BANGLADESH ASSOCIATION OF NEW ENGLAND, INC.,
& others.1
Essex. February 2, 2026. - June 3, 2026.
Present: Budd, C.J., Gaziano, Kafker, Wendlandt, Georges,
Dewar, & Wolohojian, JJ.
Practice, Civil, Attorney's fees, Costs, Contempt. Contempt.
Corporation, Charitable corporation, Non-profit
corporation.
Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on
October 30, 2023.
A complaint for contempt was heard by Kristen Buxton, J.,
and a motion for attorney's fees and costs was heard by Janice
W. Howe, J.
The Supreme Judicial Court on its own initiative
transferred the case from the Appeals Court.
Julie Pruitt Barry (Nicole Joyce Cocozza also present) for
the defendants.
Stephanie R. Parker for the plaintiff.
1 Pervin Chowdhury, Shalauddin Khan, and Tanvir Murad.
2
DEWAR, J. The defendants in this case are a charitable
organization and three individuals who are unpaid volunteers of
the organization. They contend that the $20,000 cap on tort
liability against charitable organizations set forth in G. L.
c. 231, § 85K, limits an award of attorney's fees and costs
levied against them in a civil contempt proceeding. The
Superior Court judge correctly concluded that the plaintiff's
contempt action was not a "cause of action based on tort," G. L.
c. 231, § 85K, and that the cap therefore did not apply.
Because the defendants have not shown that the judge otherwise
abused her discretion in awarding the attorney's fees and costs
requested by the plaintiff, we affirm the judgment.
Background. The Bangladesh Association of New England,
Inc. (BANE), is a nonprofit organization incorporated in
Massachusetts. The plaintiff, Mahabub Khoda, is a member of
BANE. He filed to run as a candidate for the presidency of BANE
in 2023. Voting was scheduled to take place over two days,
November 10 and 11, 2023, in the city of Cambridge. Prior to
that vote, on October 30, 2023, Khoda commenced an action in the
Superior Court against BANE and the individual defendants,
alleging that they planned to conduct the election in a manner
that violated the organization's bylaws. Khoda also moved for
preliminary injunctive relief, which the defendants opposed.
After a hearing, on November 7, 2023, a Superior Court judge
3
(motion judge) allowed the motion for a preliminary injunction
and enjoined the use of absentee and mail-in balloting
procedures that, the judge found, would violate the
organization's bylaws requiring that ballots be executed in
person and immediately delivered to the election commissioner
for safe keeping.
Following the election, Khoda filed a complaint for
contempt against the defendants, claiming that they had failed
to comply with the preliminary injunction in conducting the
election. After a hearing, the motion judge ordered the
defendants to file an answer to the contempt complaint and
permitted the parties to conduct discovery. A bench trial was
held on the contempt complaint over three days in April and May
2024 before a different judge (trial judge).
Following closing arguments, the trial judge stated in a
preliminary order of decision that Khoda had met his burden of
proving contempt and requested further briefing from the parties
on the remedies to be ordered. Followi