Real Estate Litigation

Experience

5th Largest Real Estate Law Firm in New York, The Real Deal (October 2019)

In good times and bad, interests in real estate often give rise to significant disputes. We fully serve our clients who obtain and hold an interest in real property, as owner, purchaser, mortgage holder, lessee, receiver, trustee, or executor, by protecting and enforcing clients' rights in diverse aspects of real property litigation, including:

• adjudication of rights arising under commercial leases, ground leases and leasehold mortgages;
• quiet title actions to adjudicate competing interests;
• adjudication of lien priority;
• access agreement negotiation and dispute resolution under New York Real Property Law 881;
• mechanic's lien foreclosure actions;
• bar claim actions on behalf of owners of tax lien certificates; and
• filing of tax certiorari petitions to reduce real property tax assessments on industrial, retail, apartments, hotels, nursing homes and office buildings; and
• title insurance coverage and claims.

Attorneys who practice in this area are well-versed in the interpretation and enforcement of instruments granting rights in real property, based upon our experience in the real estate and financing practice areas. From drafting to enforcement, we provide comprehensive support to achieve our clients' goals.

Representative Matters

• Served as counsel to National Asset Loan Management Limited (NALM, Ireland) in a significant victory in the New York Supreme Court regarding an Irish developer's U.S.-based assets and NALM's efforts to enforce a $351 million judgment entered by an Irish court.
• Served as national coordinating counsel, and lead trial counsel pro hac vice, on behalf of a real estate developer in defense of dozens of lawsuits, including two class actions, involving claims of fraud, deceptive practices and breach of contract.
• Advised a national bank in a U.S. forfeiture action brought against a borrower to protect mortgage collateral given to our client by the borrower.
• Represented a condominium association on claims of defective construction and fraud.
• Counseled a mortgage lender to a religious corporation in a U. S. District Court action to obtain adjudication of the priority of its mortgage lien over a mechanic's lien.
• Represented a federal court-appointed receiver of an office building in negotiations with and litigation against a major tenant regarding lease obligations, to maximize the value of the building in foreclosure.
• Counseled the holder of a mortgage in defense of a quiet title action brought by a state regarding property that was to be developed into a residential community, and coordination of strategy with counsel appointed by the title company to achieve client's goals.
• Represented an investor in connection with the prosecution of a title claim involving a construction loan and superiority over a mechanic's lien.
• Advised a New Jersey municipality in litigation against the state and federal governments relating to group homes.
• Counseled an arbitrator in the resolution of complex disputes involving commercial real estate.
• Advised a consortium of national banks in complex, politically sensitive and media intensive litigation arising out of a $150 million loan for the remediation and redevelopment of four abandoned landfills.
• Represented an investment bank in an international arbitration concerning a $200 million dispute involving complex issues of Japanese and U.S. laws and arising out of the sale of a major commercial development site in Tokyo.
• Secured a successful verdict for the buyer in a breach of real estate contract action, including a court dismissal of the seller's claims and a judgment in favor of the buyer for the return of the deposit plus costs and attorneys fees.
• Successfully secured the dismissal of a consumer deceptive and unfair trade practices lawsuit brought by the Florida Attorney General, following a three-year investigation and two years of litigation, which concluded with the Attorney General dismissing all claims against two principals of a real estate development firm, recognizing that neither was liable for the acts alleged in the State's complaint, and agreeing to a settlement with the defendant companies for a sum of less than one percent of the amount originally sought.
• On behalf of a real estate developer, hotel operator and its beneficial owner, successfully won dismissal of a qui tam action, filed ostensibly on behalf of the State of New York, which involved the alleged failure to pay transfer taxes, plus fees and penalties, as part of our clients’ ownership interest in the development of a New York City hotel. The Supreme Court, NY County dismissed the Complaint and ruled that our clients did not own more than 50% ownership interest, which was the threshold for transfer tax applicability. 
• Successfully represented the Theodore Roosevelt Association in a contract and property dispute involving the removal of a tree of historical significance, and the attempted post-removal commercialization of the debris.
• In re: F.M. Renaissance LLC v. Crown Bank (Sup. Ct. of NJ) – Successfully defended bank client at trial against claims of anticipatory breach of commercial construction loan, while also securing a money judgment in favor of the bank on its counterclaim for costs and fees.