Theodore Lampros v. Innovive Health of Massachusetts LLC and Others

Summary

The Massachusetts Superior Court denied Theodore Lampros’s motion for a preliminary injunction barring Innovive Health of Massachusetts LLC from disposing of assets outside the ordinary course of business and for $9.7 million in trustee process attachments. The court held that Lampros had not shown irreparable harm or established the likelihood of recovering more than $9.7 million, and that equitable relief resembling a creditor’s bill was unavailable because he was not yet a judgment creditor. The court also vacated the temporary restraining order entered on February 18, 2026.

Holdings

1. A plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction must establish irreparable harm absent the injunction and that the harm to the plaintiff outweighs likely irreparable harm to the defendants. Lampros failed to show a real risk that Innovive would be unable to satisfy a future judgment and therefore was not entitled to the injunction.
2. A court may not use its general equity jurisdiction to grant injunctive relief in the nature of a creditor's bill attachment before the plaintiff becomes a judgment creditor with a final and enforceable judgment, absent an asserted lien or equitable interest in particular assets.
3. Trustee process attachments may be approved only when the plaintiff establishes a reasonable likelihood of recovering a judgment, including interest and costs, at least equal to the amount of available liability insurance plus the amount sought to be attached. Lampros did not meet that burden for the requested $9.7 million attachment.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Lampros was entitled to a preliminary injunction restricting Innovive's use or disposition of its assets based on an asserted risk that Innovive would be unable to pay a future damages judgment.
2. Whether the court could grant equitable relief in the nature of a creditor's bill before Lampros obtained a final and enforceable judgment.
3. Whether Lampros established the reasonable likelihood of recovering at least $9.7 million, including prejudgment interest and costs, necessary for trustee process attachments.
4. Whether traditional equitable considerations such as irreparable harm, balancing of harms, and the public interest governed the requested trustee process attachments.

Disposition

other