Sabatini seeks to freeze Knouse assets after $9.6 million verdict
The former MIT scientist filed a motion to block asset transfers, arguing he faces the risk of losing his primary source of recovery.
By Naomi Tesfaye ·
Kristin Knouse faces a new financial constraint as her former mentor, David Sabatini, moves to collect a nine-point-six-million-dollar judgment. A Suffolk County court clerk entered the updated total on October 27, noting that the sum continues to grow by more than three thousand dollars every day due to pretrial interest.
Lawyers for Sabatini filed a motion on October 28 to prevent Knouse from transferring, selling, or disposing of any assets. The filing specifically targeted an inheritance from Knouse’s father, who died weeks before the defamation trial began in September. Sabatini’s team argued that she might disclaim new assets to keep them out of reach of creditors.
The collection effort follows an October 16 jury verdict that found Knouse liable on multiple counts. The jury assigned five hundred thousand dollars for defamation, thirty-two hundred thousand dollars for tortious interference with Sabatini’s MIT employment, and twenty-three hundred thousand dollars for interference with prospective opportunities at New York University and Sloan Kettering Institute.
Knouse’s attorneys argue the motion is premature and malicious, noting that her pending appeal should pause payment requirements. Nancy Gertner, a retired federal judge representing Knouse, called the move an act of intimidation and bluster. Both sides are currently awaiting an order from Judge Christopher K. Barry-Smith on the motion.
Knouse currently works as an assistant professor of biology at MIT. Property records show she co-owns a one-bedroom condo in Boston assessed at six hundred twenty-three thousand seven hundred dollars. A current job posting for her department lists a salary range of one hundred forty-three thousand two hundred dollars to one hundred seventy-seven thousand dollars.
Legal experts note that high-profile debtors often use bankruptcy to manage such liabilities. In Massachusetts, a debtor filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy could retain one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars in home equity and eighty-five percent of gross wages. Knouse could also propose a repayment plan under Chapter 11 or seek a dismissal if the court finds no willful or malicious injury occurred.
Sabatini has not indicated plans to settle for a lesser amount. He recently opened a lab in Prague and a satellite site in Boston, supported by a twenty-five million dollar commitment from New York billionaire Bill Ackman. Following the verdict, fifty scientists from around the world called on MIT to reconsider its decision to revoke his tenure.
