By Michael L. Moskowitz

Although Weltman & Moskowitz, LLP more often represents creditors in bankruptcy proceedings, the firm also represents a debtor from time to time. We recently represented a former client being harassed for payment by his former matrimonial attorney. What resulted is a playbook of “what not to do” after a debtor-borrower has completed her bankruptcy and received a discharge of her debts.

When a borrower seeks bankruptcy protection, whether under chapters 7, 11 or 13, the first thing the client should do is call us to determine their options. We will review the petition to determine next steps in a chapter 7 case, like the case here. We typically review the electronic docket to determine if there is a basis to object to debtor’s discharge or to the dischargeability of the debt.

Please help welcome our newest team member, Melissa Dlugokencky!

Melissa will be working closely with our bankruptcy, litigation and foreclosure attorneys. She brings to Weltman & Moskowitz proven legal assisting skills, an undergraduate degree from Dowling College and her paralegal certification from Queens College. Before joining us, Melissa concentrated on litigation and transactional matters at Cohen & Slamowitz (n/k/a Selip  & Styloanou, LLP), and Baker, McEvoy, Morrissey & Moskovits, P.C. You can reach Melissa at md@weltmosk.com.  

We hope you’ll say hello to Melissa the next time you call or stop in.  

Baker Botts LLP v. Asarco LLC

Litigation Fees Incurred By Counsel in Defense of Bankruptcy Fee Application are not Compensable

By Michael L. Moskowitz and Michele K. Jaspan

The Supreme Court recently ruled that bankruptcy courts may not award legal fees to professionals for the costs incurred in defending their fees. The decision in Baker Botts, LLP v. ASARCO, LLC, written by Justice Clarence Thomas for the majority, held that section 330(a) of the United States Code does not give bankruptcy courts the discretion to award fee-defense fees under any circumstances. Thus, the Supreme Court affirmed the ruling by the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit which reversed the bankruptcy court’s fee award to Debtor’s counsel for costs incurred in defense of its $120 million fee application.  The Baker Botts firm sought to recover in excess of $5 million for time spent litigating in defense of their fee application in Asarco’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

By Michael L. Moskowitz and Melissa A. Guseynov

We have previously reported on Thomas Petters’ $3.5 billion Ponzi scheme and the resultant “claw back” lawsuits currently pending in the Minnesota bankruptcy court. Read that report here.

In Ponzi scheme clawback litigation, a trustee, receiver or creditor will often utilize the Ponzi scheme “presumption” to prove the fraudulent intent of a transferor in connection with fraudulent transfer claims by establishing that the debtor operated a Ponzi scheme, and that the transfers at issue were made in furtherance of that scheme. In particular, the Ponzi scheme presumption proves that, among other things, the person or entity running the scheme had actual intent to defraud investors.

Media Contact: Michael L. Moskowitz 212.684.7800

E-mail: mlm@weltmosk.com or rew@weltmosk.com

For Immediate Release

NEW YORK, NY – On March 26, 2015, Michael L. Moskowitz, a founding member of Weltman & Moskowitz, LLP, participated as one of the judges in the Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School’s 27th Annual Marvin Hazan Moot Court Competition. Mr. Moskowitz participated as a jurist for the eighth consecutive year. The tournament was co-sponsored by the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University.

By Richard E. Weltman

{1:54 minutes to read} Wells Fargo Bank, as the owner of a foreclosed home in New Jersey, owed a duty of care to a prospective homebuyer who was injured when she tripped on a piece of glass while touring the home, a federal court judge in Newark ruled on January 28, 2015.

In reaching his decision, U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer explained that commercial lenders taking possession of a residential property through mortgage foreclosure assume the position of the owner, and thus assume the owner’s non-delegable duty to protect visitors from reasonably foreseeable injuries due to potentially dangerous conditions.

By Michael L. Moskowitz

Two of our clients, one, a large regional bank, and the other, a personal injury attorney, were both recently sued in adversary proceedings filed in the United States bankruptcy courts. Weltman & Moskowitz successfully established that both complaints were without merit and each plaintiff agreed to withdraw the complaint before answers were required to be filed. In doing so, we saved these clients significant legal fees and expenses and the distractions associated with protracted litigation.

A logistics and warehousing company came to Weltman & Moskowitz, LLP, a New York and New Jersey business litigation law firm, because it believed it was wrongfully named as a defendant in a multi-party federal lawsuit commenced in the Southern District of New York by the insurer subrogee of the consignor. Insurer alleged that our client had acted as a freight forwarder and bailee with respect to certain cargo damaged by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012.

News Release Update  

MICHAEL MOSKOWITZ PARTICIPATES IN THE PLAINVIEW-OLD BETHPAGE JFK HIGH SCHOOL’S 26^th ANNUAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION, HELD ON APRIL 3, 2014.

Media Contact:    Michael L. Moskowitz  212.684.7800

E-mail:   mlm@weltmosk.com or rew@weltmosk.com

For Immediate Release

NEW YORK, NY – On April 3, 2014, Michael L. Moskowitz, a founding member of Weltman & Moskowitz, LLP, participated as one of the judges in the Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School’s 26th Annual Marvin Hazan Moot Court Competition.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently held that creditors may be liable under the false name exception to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) if they falsely represent to debtors they retained a third-party collection agent, when in fact the agent made no “bona fide” effort to collect.

By Michael L. Moskowitz

Having represented numerous defendants in Ponzi-scheme adversary proceedings in the Second Circuit (New York), Weltman & Moskowitz closely follows the case law arising out of the massive Ponzi-scheme run by the now infamous Bernie Madoff. Uncovered in 2008, the resulting Madoff bankruptcies spawned dozens of decisions by the Bankruptcy Court, District Court and Second Circuit.  

NEW HAVEN - Partner Richard E. Weltman sat as a judge for the 18th Annual Yale Mock Trial Invitational on December 7 and 8, 2013. Details about the 2013 Yale Mock Trial Invitational can be found here.

The two-day event in New Haven, Connecticut fielded 42 teams from undergraduate colleges and universities across the United States. The student competitors, who serve as both attorneys and witnesses, emulate a jury trial based upon a fictional case using rules similar to the Federal Rules of Evidence. The 2013 competition results can be found here. 

In a recent Southern District of New York decision, Judge Lorna Schofield held that Kucker & Bruh, LLP (“K&B”), a debt collection firm, violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), by misrepresenting the character, amount and legal status of rent arrears allegedly owed by 82-year-old tenant Rafael Lee.

In a tangled commercial dispute, a law firm and its principal owner, without counsel, sued a well-respected New York City business equipment and technology services company for breach of contract.  Problem was, the law firm targeted the wrong party in a grudge match over a faulty printer...

PaperStreet Web Design's development team just wrapped up the brand new re-design of weltmosk.com.   The new site not only has a modern design but is using the latest web technologies, JavaScript libraries, and web standards.