Top Court to Review Judicial Pay Decision
The Court of Appeals informed parties in Maron v. Silver yesterday that it will hear an appeal as of right in the case in which state judges are seeking a pay raise from the Legislature and governor. Court spokesman Gary Spencer said letters sent yesterday to the attorneys indicated that the Court will hear the case in its normal course, meaning after a full briefing schedule. It typically takes the Court about seven months to hear oral arguments in a case after accepting an appeal, and another month to hand down a written ruling. A 4-1 Appellate Division, Third Department panel dismissed Maron v. Silver, 58 AD 3d 102 (NYLJ, Nov. 14, 2008). Also yesterday, the Court denied as unnecessary a motion for leave to appeal filed by the Maron plaintiffs, who had sought to appeal either as of right, because a substantial constitutional question is directly involved in the case, or through a leave grant. Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman took no part in considering the leave-to-appeal request. He has indicated that because he is a plaintiff in one of the suits, he would recuse himself from any judicial pay litigation that reaches the Court. Lawyers in the two other judicial pay suits pending in the courts, Chief Judge v. Governor and Larabee v. Governor, have indicated that they would like their cases to be consolidated with Maron and for the Court of Appeals to decide the pay raise question at the same time (NYLJ, June 16). —Joel Stashenko
Judges to Hear Challenge To Atlantic Yards Project
The Court of Appeals also agreed to hear a challenge to the use of eminent domain to seize homes and property in order to construct the Atlantic Yards project in downtown Brooklyn. Nine property owners and tenants filed the case, Goldstein v. N.Y. State Urban Development Corporation, 07064-08, in August 2008, alleging that the use of eminent domain to obtain the land for the 16-skyscraper project violates the New York State Constitution. In May, the Appellate Division, Second Department, voted 4-0 to dismiss the petition. In a letter issued last week, the Court said it will review that decision. The plaintiffs have asked the Court to address three issues, including whether the “public use” requirement of the state Constitution imposes a more stringent standard for takings than does the Fifth Amendment. The plaintiffs’ attorney Matthew Brinckerhoff said his clients were grateful the Court would decide whether the state Constitution “protects the homes of its citizens from the wrecking ball of greed wielded by influential developers and the public officials who do their bidding.” The appellant’s briefs are due July 31, and the Court will the hear the case in October. — Mark Fass
Panel Refuses to Stay Order For Senate Special Sessions
An Appellate Division, Third Department, panel yesterday denied a motion to stay Supreme Court Justice Joseph C. Teresi’s order that all 62 members of the Senate be compelled to report to the Senate chamber when called by Governor David A. Paterson for special sessions. Senate Republicans had asked the court to stay the effect of Justice Teresi’s order pending an appeal, but their motion was denied by the appellate panel comprised of Presiding Justice Anthony V. Cardona and Justices Karen K. Peters, Edward O. Spain, Robert S. Rose and Bernard J. Malone Jr. Attorneys for Senate Republicans had contended they were entitled to a statutory stay once they filed a notice of appeal of Justice Teresi’s ruling yesterday morning. —Joel Stashenko
Mayer Brown Taps SpehrTo Head New York Office
One month after a management shake-up at Mayer Brown, the firm announced that Richard A. Spehr will take the helm of the firm’s 200-lawyer New York office. Firm chairman Herbert “Bert” Krueger said the appointment was “key to the firm’sglobal platform and strategy.” Mr. Spehr, 47, co-head of the firm’s New York litigation group, succeeds bankruptcy partner Brian Trust as partner-in-charge of the New York office. Mr. Spehr said in a statement he planned to work with attorneys and management to help the New York office “realize its full potential.” Mr. Spehr’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, including federal and state securities laws and SEC investigations. He counts among his clients American International Group and Bank of America. His appointment comes amid a raft of changes at Mayer Brown, including its adoption of a new governance structure, consisting of a 12-member partnership board and a six-member management committee (NYLJ, May 29). The new structure, which eliminated a 16-member policy and planning committee, was approved in April, shortly after former Mayer Brown chairman James Holzhauer stepped down. Two weeks ago, three Mayer Brown partners, including the firm’s vice-chairman Paul Maher, jumped ship to join Greenberg Traurig’s new London office. — Noeleen G. Walder
Sotomayor ‘Highly Qualified,’ New York City Bar Concludes
The New York City Bar has found U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotamayor “highly qualified” to be a U.S. Supreme Court justice, Patricia Hynes, the president of the 23,000-member group, announced yesterday. The city bar’s executive committee, which interviewed Judge Sotomayor as a part of its review, found her to have demonstrated a “ formidable intellect,” a “deep commitment” to litigants and counsel in cases before her and “an abiding respect” for the powers of the executive and legislative branches of government. The American Bar Association will not disclose its evaluation of Judge Sotomayor until its representative testifies at her confirmation hearing, which is scheduled to start July 13. Former President George H.W. Bush appointed Judge Sotomayor to the Southern District of New York in 1992. Six years later, former President Bill Clinton elevated her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In addition to meeting with Judge Sotomayor, the executive committee interviewed judges sitting in the Southern District and on the Second Circuit and reviewed opinions she has issued during her 17 years as a federal judge. Judge Sotomayor is the first U.S. Supreme Court candidate to be evaluated under a three-tier rating system the city bar introduced in 2007 for U.S. Supreme Court and New York Court of Appeals candidates. The three possible ratings are “highly qualified,” “qualified” and “not qualified.” — Daniel Wise
Judge Names Receiver In Madoff Feeder Fund Suit
Goodwin Procter partner David B. Pitofsky was appointed yesterday as receiver of the $1.7 billion Ascot fund put together by financier J. Ezra Merkin, almost all of which was invested with Bernard L. Madoff and lost. Justice Richard B. Lowe, appointed Mr. Pitofsky receiver in a lawsuit (People of the State of New York v. Merkin, 450879/09) brought by the state Attorney General’s Office seeking recovery from Mr. Merkin of $2.4 billion in his client’s funds which he had “recklessly” invested with Mr. Madoff despite “clear warning signals” that the funds were being mishandled. Also yesterday, Justice Lowe approved the sale of $310 million worth of Mr. Merkin’s artwork, including works by Mark Rothko and Alberto Giacometti, to an unidentified private buyer, which will result in a net amount of $192 million being placed “in escrow to secure cash funds that could contribute to a resolution” of the lawsuit, according to a letter submitted to the court by David A. Markowitz, the chief investigator of the Attorney General’s investor protection bureau. Mr. Pitofsky, a former deputy chief in the Eastern District U.S. Attorney’s Office, will have as his principal task the initiation of litigation against third parties, aside from Mr. Madoff, who may be liable for the lost funds. In May, Justice Lowe appointed Bart M. Schwartz, a former head of the Criminal Division in the Southern District U.S. Attorney’s Office, as receiver of two other funds put together by Mr. Merkin which totaled $2.7 billion. About one-quarter of those funds were lost in investments with Mr. Madoff, according to the attorney general’s lawsuit. — Daniel Wise
Former State Bar President Named to Integrity Agency
Governor David A. Paterson has appointed Steven C. Krane, Proskauer Rose partner and former president of the New York State Bar Association, to the Commission on Public Integrity. He will replace Sullivan & Cromwell partner Robert J. Giuffra Jr., who has been a holdover on the commission since his term expired in October 2008. Mr. Krane’s term will run through October 2014. Mr. Krane, state bar president in 2001-02, was also once clerk to former state chief judge Judith S. Kaye. His appointment to the 13-member commission is not subject to confirmation by the state Senate. Members are not paid. Mr. Giuffra was originally named to the Ethics Commission by former Governor George E. Pataki and appointed by Eliot Spitzer to the Public Integrity Commission when it was formed in 2007 by the merger of the Ethics and Lobbying commissions. — Joel Stashenko
Suit Against Owners Of Parked Cars Proceeds
A Brooklyn woman who was injured when she stepped into a pothole while exiting a bus may pursue a negligence action against the owners of two cars that allegedly parked in the bus stop, thereby forcing the driver to drop passengers in the street. “It is well settled that ‘owners of improperly parked cars may be held liable to plaintiffs injured by negligent drivers of other vehicles,’” Supreme Court Justice Robert J. Miller ruled. “While the instant case involves a trip and fall rather than a vehicle accident, it remains a question for the jury as to whether the illegally parked cars, which forced the passengers to disembark in the street, were the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s fall.” Smalls v. New York City Transit Authority, 25826/06, appears on page 31. — Mark Fass
