T&E Litigation Update: "Hanselman v. Frank"

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.