Massachusetts' highest court ruled Wednesday that a state judge abused his discretion by ordering an attorney-fee sanction in a business case because the award was “not necessary to ensure the fair administration of justice.”

In Wong v. Luu , the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that retired Superior Court Justice D. Lloyd McDonald went too far by ordering Boston attorney Richard Goren to pay nearly $240,000 toward other parties' fees.

“We conclude that a judge may exercise the court's inherent power to sanction an attorney with an assessment of attorney's fees only if the attorney has engaged in misconduct that threatens the fair administration of justice and the sanction is necessary to preserve the judge's authority to administer justice,” Chief Justice Ralph Gants wrote.