Ruling leaves state with big budget hole

Kevin Landrigan covers the JUA case in the pages of the Nashua Telegraph, leading with the force of McGuire's ruling against the state:

In a strongly worded opinion, Associate Justice Kathleen McGuire ruled the state had no right to claim as its own surplus money in an account that helps subsidize the cost of medical malpractice and liability insurance coverage for health care providers.McGuire said the state's claim to the money to balance its books did not justify the maneuver.

"Fiscal necessity, though superficially compelling, has never been sufficient of itself to permit states to abrogate contracts," McGuire wrote. (more)