When Governor Chris Christie signed the New Jersey Trade Secrets Act into law last month, New Jersey became the 46th state to afford statutory protection to trade secrets, thereby providing trade secret owners in New Jersey with an important new tool to protect their rights.
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Attorneys Mentioned: Jeffrey Schreiber, Jeffrey Weingart
Citigroup Inc was sued for fraud by Loreley Financing over nearly $1 billion worth of collateralized debt obligations purchased in 2006 and 2007.
Citigroup is accused of defrauding Loreley into purchasing "fraudulent investments that are now worthless," Loreley said in a complaint filed Tuesday in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
Citi used the CDOs to offload the risks of toxic mortgage-backed securities on its books and to help preferred clients "short" the housing market, the lawsuit claims.
...For Loreley: Marc Kasowitz and Sheron Korpus of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman, James Ringer of Meister Seelig & Fein and Stephen Plotnick of Carter Ledyard & Milburn.
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Attorneys Mentioned: James M. Ringer
New York, NY – January 10, 2012 -- Meister Seelig & Fein LLP today announced that Bob Goldberg has joined the firm to head its Taxation and Employee Benefits Group.
Bob Goldberg, formerly counsel to Farrell Fritz, P.C., joins Meister Seelig as a partner in the firm's Corporate Group. He has experience in a broad variety of federal and local tax matters, and has particular experience in federal income tax issues related to partnerships, limited liability companies, real estate, transactional tax planning and tax-exempt organizations. Mr. Goldberg further specializes in employee benefits and executive compensation and represents clients on a range of compensation and benefits matters, including executive compensation, the compensation and benefits aspects of merger and acquisition transactions, employment and separation agreements, retirement plan terminations, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's (ERISA) fiduciary duty and prohibited transaction rules, and benefit plan controversies.
"We are excited to have Bob Goldberg join the firm in order to better serve our clients in the areas of taxation and employee benefits," said Mark Seelig, the firm's managing partner. "Our clients at all levels need tax-related advice, and Bob's experience and expertise cuts across each of the firm's practice areas. He will be an asset to the firm, as well as to our clients."
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Attorneys Mentioned: Bob G. Goldberg, Mark J. Seelig
Friedman-Roth Realty Services LLC has completed the $15.784 million, off-market sale of a 65 Bank St. The Greenwich Village apartment building, is located between West 4th St. and Bleecker St. The 50-ft. wide, six-story, walk-up building features 35 residential units and a commercial office space and contains 25,614 s/f....
The purchaser was represented by Matthew Kasindorf of Meister Seelig & Fein LLP and the seller was represented by Yaron Kornblum of Rivkin Radler LLP.
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Attorneys Mentioned: Matthew E. Kasindorf
An Alexandria federal jury returned a verdict on Oct. 27, 2011 of $96,400,000 in favor of Honua Investment Management, Inc. and its bondholders who were defrauded by Man Ki Kim, a McLean businessman. The case was tried over a period of four days by James Ringer of New York and Daniel L. Fitch of Harrisonburg. The verdict is the fifth largest ever returned in Virginia and the biggest in the commonwealth since 2002.
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Attorneys Mentioned: James M. Ringer, James M. Ringer
The verdict included $48.2 million in compensatory damages and $48.2 million in punitive damages. The punitive award is subject to Virginia's $350,000 cap, reported one of the lawyers for the bondholders.
New York's Jim Ringer, lead counsel for the bondholders, said it appeared Kim was trying to keep his deals alive by borrowing from one entity to fund another.
"There are a lot of people who think if you keep the ball in the air long enough you can succeed," Ringer said. "Sooner or later the ball comes down."
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Attorneys Mentioned: James M. Ringer
Meister Seelig & Fein LLP today
announced that it has added two attorneys to its growing Intellectual Property
Group.
Jeffrey Greenberg, formerly a partner in a leading New York City-based entertainment law firm, joins Meister Seelig as a partner in the firm's IP Group. His arrival further bolsters a growing cadre of lawyers in the group with broad entertainment and media-related experience.
... The firm also added Rowena DeLeon as an associate in the IP Group. With more than a decade of trademark prosecution and licensing experience, Ms. DeLeon will further strengthen the firm's ability to prosecute and manage large, international trademark portfolios.
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Attorneys Mentioned: Rowena J.S. DeLeon, Jeffrey A. Greenberg
Stamford, CT, June 2, 2011 -- A reception was held Wednesday evening to celebrate the opening of commercial law firm Meister, Seelig & Fein's Stamford, Connecticut office. Governor Dannel P. Malloy joined the celebration as the firm's honored guest.
"This is a perfect time to expand into Connecticut. Local businesses are growing stronger as the state focuses on revitalizing the economy, and the opportunity to provide high quality legal support to businesses in Connecticut continues to grow" Commented Governor Malloy.
"We are excited that Governor Malloy could come out tonight to help us celebrate the opening of our new office in Stamford. We see a great deal of opportunity in Connecticut and really appreciate the Governor's support," said Meister, Seelig & Fein Managing Partner Mark Seelig. "With our entry into Connecticut we look forward to being more accessible to Connecticut-based clients and building additional relationships within the community."
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Attorneys Mentioned: Mark J. Seelig
Meister Seelig & Fein LLP looks forward to sponsoring and participating in IMN's 12th Annual US Real Estate Opportunity & Private Fund Investing Forum at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers!
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Attorneys Mentioned: Matthew E. Kasindorf, Stephen B. Meister
In what one analyst said is a sign the law industry is rebounding from a recession, another New York City law firm is expanding its practice by opening an office in Stamford, Conn.
Meister Seelig & Fein LLP, a 50-attorney, full-practice Manhattan firm, opened a six-lawyer law office at 201 Broad Street in Stamford earlier this month. Among the six lawyers are former Robinson & Cole attorneys Alex Pencu and Chris Major.
Jeff Weingart, a partner at the New York-based firm, said the firm does significant work in technology and intellectual property and sees an expanding market for those services in Connecticut. "We have an optimistic outlook about the Connecticut office and region in general," he said. "We do plan to grow that office."
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Attorneys Mentioned: Jeffrey Weingart
Matthew Kasindorf is a highly accomplished transactional lawyer specializing in sophisticated real estate and investment ventures. In addition, he serves as the chair of Meister Seelig & Fein's prolific Real Estate department. He has a national reputation built upon years of excellence and is regularly sought after by sophisticated real estate entrepreneurs for his expertise in the formation, syndication, acquisition, financing, development, sale and leasing of all real estate asset classes.
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Attorneys Mentioned: Matthew E. Kasindorf
New York City law firm Meister Seelig & Fein has opened an office at the One Canterbury Green building in downtown Stamford, part of an effort to leverage its growing contingent of Connecticut attorneys and better serve clients in the state.
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Attorneys Mentioned: Mark J. Seelig, Jeffrey Weingart
New York City law firm Meister Seelig & Fein has opened an office at the One Canterbury Green building in downtown Stamford, part of an effort to leverage its growing contingent of Connecticut attorneys and better serve clients in the state.
"We are excited to be able to take advantage of burgeoning opportunities in the Connecticut legal market," said managing partner Mark Seelig. "We see a lot of demand in Connecticut among small, medium and large clients for sophisticated and practical legal services."
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Attorneys Mentioned: Mark J. Seelig
Meister Seelig & Fein LLP announced today that it has opened an office in Stamford, Connecticut in order to leverage its growing contingent of Connecticut attorneys and to better serve its Connecticut-based clients. The firm's Stamford office is located at One Canterbury Green in downtown Stamford.
"We are excited to be able to take advantage of burgeoning opportunities in the Connecticut legal market," said Managing Partner Mark Seelig. "Our firm now has a number of seasoned attorneys who previously practiced at large Connecticut firms and regularly represent Connecticut-based clients. With our new office in Stamford, we look forward to being more accessible to Connecticut clients seeking the highest quality legal services provided in an efficient and results-oriented manner."
"We see a lot of demand in Connecticut among small, medium and large clients for sophisticated and practical legal services that add value," Seelig added.
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Attorneys Mentioned: Mark J. Seelig
Developer Joseph Moinian has cut a deal to fend off a hostile takeover attempt by one of the city's largest developers, who sought to seize his 26-story office building project near Columbus Circle.
Last summer, real estate mogul Stephen Ross, the developer of the nearby Time Warner Center, made a grab for Mr. Moinian's 3 Columbus Circle project by purchasing the in-default $250 million debt on the property. Mr. Ross's plan was to foreclose on and demolish the troubled office project and redevelop the property with luxury condominiums and Nordstrom as its anchor tenant..
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SL Green Realty Corp. and New York developer Joseph Moinian ended an attempt by Stephen Ross's Related Cos. to take over a mostly vacant office tower near Columbus Circle.
Related and a partner, a unit of Deutsche Bank AG, "relinquished all claims" to 3 Columbus Circle, a 26-story tower in Midtown Manhattan, SL Green said today in a statement. The Related partnership received about $278 million to settle a $250 million mortgage that it had bought in an effort to foreclose on the property, a person with knowledge of the deal said.
"We have been confident in this outcome from Day One," Moinian, who had been battling potential default on the property for a year, said in the statement.
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The great battle of Columbus Circle ended Friday evening, not with a bang but with the rustle of settlement papers and money being made.
Joseph Moinian, a real estate developer with a number of troubled properties, gets to keep the 26-story 1920s office building that he is renovating at the circle's southeast edge.
Stephen M. Ross, who built the massive, two-tower Time Warner Center at the northwest edge of Columbus Circle and tried to foreclose on the Moinian tower — which he described as a monstrosity — walked away, his supporters said, with a $28 million profit, after five months of skirmishing.
But Mr. Ross did not get what he really wanted — to demolish Mr. Moinian's building, at 1775 Broadway, to erect a sleek skyscraper there. Mr. Ross envisioned condominiums with breathtaking views of Central Park, atop New York City's first Nordstrom department store at the base.
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Developer Joseph Moinian settled a legal battle with lenders Related Cos. and Deutsche Bank over the office tower at 3 Columbus Circle.
The agreement calls for the $250 million mortgage to be paid off with the lenders getting an additional $28.5 million, or just over half a $54 million prepayment penalty.
The monies include legal fees, interest and about $8 million already being held by the lenders from lockbox escrow payments. Moinian does not have to pay interest on the loan from December and January.
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On Monday morning, Stephen Meister of the law firm of Meister Seelig & Fein, who represents Mr. Moinian, said Deutsche Bank will likely not accept the money. He added that if that's the case, a New York State Supreme Court judge will have to decide whether Mr. Moinian has to pay a $54 million prepayment charge. Mr. Meister said he is confident that his client will win.
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Attorneys Mentioned: Stephen B. Meister
Chetrit had to lay out both his and Dayan's share of additional funds to extend and reduce their mortgage commitment to just over $20 million from about $53 million. Now, a judge has ordered Dayan to pay, and Stephen Meister, Chetrit's lawyer, said he will start enforcing the judgment, which is worth about $2.55 million.
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Attorneys Mentioned: Stephen B. Meister
On Nov. 24, the day before Thanksgiving, a representative for Mr. Meister's office dropped off at the State Supreme Court a Bank of America cashier's check signed by SL Green Management for $258,550,838.52. The numbers run to the edge of the paper. If Mr. Ross picks up the check by Dec. 6, the dispute is over and Mr. Moinian will have a new financier. If they leave the check in the court's vault, litigation over the prepayment penalty will continue, with Mr. Ross losing more than $70,000 in interest daily.
Nobody has any idea what Mr. Ross' next move will be.
"By the way, why would any lender turn that down?" Mr. Meister asked The Observer, referring to an earlier offer turned down by the lenders that included the prepayment penalty in escrow. "Think about that! Why would any lender whose real goal is to get repaid turn that down? That proves that they're predatory! The only reason to turn that down is because they want to steal the building. That's the only reason, O.K.?"
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Attorneys Mentioned: Stephen B. Meister
Now, a state Supreme Court judge has ordered Dayan to pay up. Stephen Meister, Chetrit's lawyer, said he will start enforcing the judgment, which encompasses about $2.55 million.
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Attorneys Mentioned: Stephen B. Meister
New York developer Joseph Moinian is suing Related Cos. and a group of lenders, accusing them of a "loan to own" scheme as he fights against a takeover of his newly renovated 3 Columbus Circle tower.
The suit, filed late Monday in Manhattan state court by lawyer Stephen B. Meister, accuses Related and the lenders of interfering with Moinian's business dealings at the Midtown office building, also known as 1775 Broadway, thereby making it "un-leasable."
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Attorneys Mentioned: Stephen B. Meister
The payment, along with $6 million in rent money Moinian's lawyer, Stephen Meister, said is being held in escrow by the bank, should be enough for the bank to provide a satisfaction of the mortgage and walk away hand-in-hand with Ross -- or keep litigating over a $54 million prepayment penalty without earning any more interest.
The formal tender offer, allowed under procedural court rules, gives Deutsche Bank 10 days to cash the check or keep going in court without more interest on the loan -- currently racking up about $70,000 per day.
"They better be damned sure about their $54 million [prepayment penalty]," Meister said, of the additional amount central to the current litigation.
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Attorneys Mentioned: Stephen B. Meister