Efforts by the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corp. to recoup the costs of years of financial improprieties got a boost with the $1 million settlement the agency reached with Newark law firm Genova Burns. But the watershed still faces an uphill battle in its collection efforts. On June 13, the same day a motion to approve the Genova Burns settlement was filed, defaults were entered against 19 other defendants who the agency deems responsible for its millions of dollars in losses.
The NWCDC filed a petition seeking approval of the Genova Burns settlement from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Vincent F. Papalia, who is hearing its Chapter 11 case. The agency’s claims arise from the firm’s representation of the NWCDC in 2012 and 2013. Genova Burns acquired the agency as a client when it lured attorneys Elnardo Webster II and Jodi Luciani from their former firm, Trenk, DiPasquale, Della Ferra and Sodono of West Orange.
