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In Hanselman v. Frank, Case No. 09-P-1490, 2010 Mass. App. Unpub. LEXIS 715 (June 23, 2010), a decision issued pursuant to Rule 1:28, the Appeals Court affirmed the grant of a preliminary injunction upon the motion by one beneficiary of an irrevocable trust, Hanselman, to enjoin the trustee from making distributions to another beneficiary, Edward, during the pendency of litigation concerning whether Edward had violated the forfeiture provision of the trust by petitioning for the removal of the trustee for failure to account.
In affirming the grant of the preliminary injunction, the Appeals Court reviewed (1) whether Hanselman had a likelihood of success on the merits, (2) whether Hanselman would be irreparably harmed if the injunction were not issued, and (3) whether a balancing of the harms favored Hanselman. Regarding the first element, likelihood of success on the merits, Massachusetts has long recognized forfeiture clauses--also known as in terrorem or no-contest clauses--as valid and enforceable, and the Court held that Edward's petition to remove the trustee triggered the forfeiture clause of the trust. The Court noted that Edward had not merely sought an accounting from the trustee. Regarding the second element, irreparable harm, the Court explained that potential inability to collect damages has sufficed to entitle a plaintiff to a preliminary injunction that does no more than preserve the status quo. Preserving the status quo was held to be warranted here because the evidence suggested that Edward would be unable to repay distributions if he were ultimately found to have violated the forfeiture provision. As to the third element, balancing of the harms, the Court explained that the risk to a plaintiff of funds being dissipated by a potentially judgment-proof defendant during litigation has been found to outweigh the defendant's loss of use of the money pending a final decision.Kaitlyn (Katie) Sapp co-presented on "Updates in Probate Law and Practice" at the Massachusetts Bar Association's Ninth Annual Probate Law Conference on November 8.
Margaret Meehan, Tiana Gianopulos and Alexis Gettier collaborated on an article, "New Direction: The Connecticut Uniform Directed Trust Act" for the Quinnipiac Probate Law Journal.
Mark Romance authored an article, "Five Tips for Representing a Non-Party Served with a Document Subpoena: Welcome to the Party?," published by the American Bar Association Section of Litigation.
Mark A. Romance authored an article, "Five Tips for an Effective Mediation Statement," which was published by the American Bar Association, Section of Litigation.
New Jersey Office Managing Partner Paul Marino was featured in Capital Analytics Associates' Invest: North Jersey article, "Maintaining the Emphasis on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion."
Six Boston-based Individual Clients Department Day Pitney attorneys were named to Boston Magazine's Inaugural Top Lawyers of 2021 List.
Adam Myron, senior counsel resident in Day Pitney's West Palm Beach office, is running for judge in south Florida.
Alisa Hacker was appointed to the Boston Bar Association Virtual Hearing Resource Guides Probate Team.
Day Pitney's Michael Napoleone has been appointed to the Palm Beach County League of Cities board of directors.
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