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January 28, 2008
The Appellate Division, First Department, affirmed the lower court's dismissal of claims brought against ARY's client, an engineering firm, by its former partner. The decision is reported at Altebrando v. Gozdziewski, 47 A.D.3d 520, 849 N.Y.S.2d 550 (1st Dep't 2008). For more information or to obtain a copy of the decision, please contact Joseph Aronauer (jaronauer@aryllp.com) or Ken Yudell (kyudell@aryllp.com).
September 11, 2007
The Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed the order of the Surrogate's Court, Suffolk County, which granted summary judgment dismissing all claims against ARY's client. ARY's client had sold a life-only annuity. When the purchaser died shortly after the purchase, his estate claimed common law fraud and misrepresentation by the broker. The estate also asserted that the annuity was a security and that the defendants were liable for securities fraud. The Surrogate's Court dismissed the claims (see the entry on March 31, 2006 below), and the appeals court affirmed the dismissal. The appeal was briefed and argued by John C. Re . For more information, please contact John C. Re at jre@aryllp.com. August 2007
In a recent case, ARY obtained a preliminary injunction preventing the use of ARY's client's trade secrets. Even after the grant of the preliminary injunction, the defendants continued to use the trade secrets. ARY moved to hold the defendants in the contempt. In the midst of the contempt hearing, the defendants agreed to an iron-clad settlement and have not used the trade secrets since. To discuss this or any other matters involving intellectual property such as patents, copyrights or trademarks, contact Donna Tobin at dtobin@arylaw.com. July 2007
One of ARY's clients recently signed a contract for a complex real estate deal. Our client sold a parking lot to a publicly traded REIT. The buyer is going to build a large residential condominium. As part of the deal, ARY's client will get a lease for the garage for the condo. This lease interest will later convert to a condo purchase. The deal involved three different aspects: the initial sale; the lease from a condo when it is built and the later purchase of a garage condo unit . If you have any questions about this deal or any other real estate deal, contact Mike Scher at mscher@aryllp.com.
June 1, 2007
ARY congratulates its former partner, Samuel Goldfarb, on becoming general counsel to one of the firm's hedge fund clients. While we are sad to see Sam leave the firm, we are all excited for him and wish him well in his new venture.
March 30, 2007
Summary judgment dismissing all claims asserted against ARY's client was granted by Judge Sterling Johnson, United States District Court, Eastern District of New York. Significantly, Judge Johnson also granted ARY's motion for sanctions against the opposing party and their counsel for their continued pursuit of claims against ARY's client after it became clear that there was no factual basis to support their claims. The decision is reported at Staples v. W.J.R. Associates, et al., 2007 WL 1038523 (E.D.N.Y. 2007). For more information or for a copy of the decision, please contact John Re at jre@aryllp.com.
March 2, 2007
ARY successfully upholds the rights of its life insurance company client at trial. The life insurance company had previously commenced an arbitration proceeding against a former underwriter for damages arising out of the latter's improper issuance of certain policies. The underwriter's E&O carrier refused coverage for the claims asserted against the underwriter and commenced a declaratory judgment action in Cobb County, Georgia, naming ARY's client as a defendant. After a jury trial which lasted four days, a verdict was rendered finding that the E&O carrier was obligated to provide a defense and coverage to the underwriter for the claims asserted by ARY's client. For more information, please contact John Re at jre@aryllp.com.
December 2006
In a case of David vs. Goliath, ARY successfully represented a former Goldman Sachs employee in an arbitration concerning his continued right to share in benefits received by him related to Goldman Sachs' initial public offering. After several days of hearings, the NYSE arbitration panel awarded ARY's client over 99% of what he had requested. For more information, please contact Joseph Aronauer at jaronauer@aryllp.com.
October 17, 2006
ARY successfully defended a civil engineering firm in an action brought against it by a former partner which the firm had expelled. The Supreme Court, New York County granted summary judgment to ARY's client finding that the architectural firm acted properly and within the terms of the firm's partnership agreement in ousting the former partner. The Court's decision is reported at Altebrando v. Gozdziewski, 831 N.Y.S.2d 351 (Sup. Ct., N.Y. Co. 2006). For more information or for a copy of the decision, please contact Kenneth Yudell at kyudell@aryllp.com.
September 2006
In negotiations which lasted more than six months, ARY successfully represented the purchaser of a fifty percent interest in a group of hedge funds. This representation continued ARY's tradition of successful representation of closely held entities and their owners. For more information, please contact Joseph Aronauer at jaronauer@aryllp.com.
June 22, 2006
ARY successfully represented a developer in acquiring a piece of property in New York City's Theater District for approximately $14,000,000. The property acquired was part of a group of properties being acquired by the developer-client as part of a development site being assembled. For more information, please contact Michael Scher at mscher@aryllp.com.
March 31, 2006
In an action seeking to rescind the purchase of a life-time only annuity policy issued by an insurance company represented by ARY, the Surrogate's Court, Suffolk County, granted summary judgment dismissing the claims against ARY's client. After the completion of extensive discovery, the court found that the claimants could not support their claims of fraud and misrepresentation by the independent insurance broker or by ARY's client. This case involved the purchase of a life-only fixed annuity by a 60 year-old man with one heir, a 40 year-old disabled daughter. The man's estate claimed that the life only annuity was not a suitable investment for him. The Court refused to impose a suitability requirement upon the sale of the fixed annuity contract at issue, since the annuity was not a "security" and refused to allow claimant to establish a fraud claim against ARY's client solely by implication. For more information, or to obtain a copy of this decision, please contact John C. Re at jre@aryllp.com.
February 14, 2006
In an important decision for lenders and borrowers in New York, the
Appellate Division, First Department held in favor of ARY's client
in upholding the right to charge a fee to a borrower for an assignment
of mortgage. The First Department determined that since the loan documents
did not contain a right to an assignment of mortgage, the lender was
within its right to charge a fee for the mortgage assignment or to refuse
to provide the assignment. The Court also dismissed all other claims
brought against ARY's client by the plaintiffs. In light of the New
York's mortgage recording tax being as high as 2.8% for mortgages on
commercial properties in New York City, the right to charge an assignment
fee has significant economic impact on both borrowers and lenders. For
more information, or to obtain a copy of this decision, please contact
Kenneth Yudell at kyudell@aryllp.com.
February 3, 2006
Supreme Court, New York County (Soto, J.) dismissed an action by a homeowner's
association seeking enforcement of certain restrictive covenants as
against ARY's client (the property owner) and the tenant dentists.
In their complaint, the plaintiffs alleged that the use of the property
as a dental office violated two long-standing covenants against any "noxious or dangerous trade or business" or other nuisances
on the property. Plaintiffs moved for a preliminary injunction directing
the defendants to cease their operations at the property. Upon ARY's
cross-motion, the Court dismissed the action finding that the use of
the property as a periodontal office was not prohibited by the covenants.
The decision was reported in the February 16, 2006 edition of the New
York Law Journal. For more information, or to obtain a copy of this
decision, please contact Joseph Aronauer at jaronauer@aryllp.com.
October 7, 2005
Summary judgment as to liability was granted to ARY's financial services
client in a case involving a securitized loan. In this case, the defendant
had originated a mortgage loan on a property located in Louisiana. ARY's
client asserted that the defendant had breached various representations
and warranties contained in a mortgage loan purchase agreement. The
breach was based upon fraud committed by the borrower in obtaining the
loan. The Court held that the representations and warranties had been
breached since the loan was in default at the time it was assigned by
the defendant. For more information, or to obtain a copy of this decision,
please contact Kenneth Yudell at kyudell@aryllp.com.
July 7, 2005
ARY is once again one of the sponsors of the ORIX USA Corporation Investor
Retreat. The Retreat is held annually in Vail, Colorado to bring together
professionals and investors in the Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities
industry. The firm will be represented at the retreat by Joe Aronauer
and Ken Yudell.
June 28, 2005
The uniform franchise offering circular of our client, Brasil Coffee
House Franchise, was accepted for filing by the New York Attorney General’s
Office, clearing the way for it to commence the sale of franchises in
the fast growing deluxe coffee category. At Brasil Coffee House cafes,
today’s coffee connoisseurs will enjoy the finest Brazilian Arabica
coffees and foods served in a unique Brazilian coffee plantation environment.
Look for the distinctive Brasil Coffee House cafes coming soon to a
location near you.
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