Suing Your Accuser: What the Sabatini Verdict Shows
A Boston jury's $6 million defamation verdict for ousted scientist David Sabatini shows when an accused person's suit against an accuser can survive, and what it costs to get there.
October 16, 2026 · 2 min read
By Jocelyn C. Stewart
The Boston Globe reports that a Suffolk County jury on Friday awarded former MIT scientist David Sabatini $6 million on his defamation and interference claims against a former member of his lab who had accused him of sexual misconduct. The Globe reports he says their relationship was consensual; she says it was coerced. Most accused people who think about suing never reach a jury. Here is why this case did.
What was alleged. The Globe reports that a 2021 investigation commissioned by the Whitehead Institute concluded Sabatini had violated institute policy, and that he resigned from Whitehead in 2021 and from MIT in 2022. The Globe reports his former colleague counterclaimed, alleging a coerced relationship and a sexualized lab culture. This was a civil verdict on civil claims. No criminal case has been reported.
The New York Times, in a report carried by Boston.com, also reports that the jury found Sabatini's accuser had defamed him and awarded him $6 million.
Internal complaints are protected, but not absolutely. Under Massachusetts law, statements made to an employer's investigators carry a conditional privilege. It is lost if the speaker knew the statement was false, acted with reckless disregard for the truth, or spread it further than needed. The trial judge left those questions to the jury. Sabatini v. Knouse, No. 2284CV01449-BLS-1 (Mass. Super. Ct. Nov. 3, 2025).
Facts can be defamatory. Feelings usually are not. The same ruling let the jury weigh statements that can be proven true or false, such as claims of assault. It threw out claims based on opinion, such as saying she felt coerced or manipulated. Wording matters.
Members can read the rest of the analysis: why the institution itself was not on trial, what it cost Sabatini in time and money to get a verdict, and Jocelyn's takeaway for anyone who is accused and thinking about suing.