News and Links
On May 1, 2013, Justice Joan M. Kenney of New York County Supreme Court granted the motion to dismiss filed by Sher Tremonte on behalf of its clients, two former members of a limited liability company. The LLC , which operates a professional photography studio in the Chelsea area of Manhattan, sought over $1 million in damages from Sher Tremonte’s clients based on alleged breaches of fiduciary duty and conversion. Adopting Sher Tremonte’s lead argument that the claims were barred by a prior agreement, the court dismissed the claims in their entirety. Read the decision here.
On March 22, 2013, Judge Thomas P. Griesa of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied a motion to dismiss filed by the defendants in Antares Management LLC v. Galt Global Capital, Inc. Sher Tremonte represents the plaintiff, a market research company and finder, which seeks to recover a $45.5 million finder’s fee from an investment advisor and two hedge funds set up to buy private shares of Facebook. The court held that each of plaintiff’s nine causes of action stated claims for relief. Read the decision here.
On September 24, 2012, Justice Kornreich of the Commercial Division of New York County Supreme Court, dismissed all legal claims brought against Sher Tremonte’s client in a dispute arising from an $11 million commercial lease. Adopting arguments presented by Sher Tremonte in its motion to dismiss, the court held that the plaintiff failed to state cognizable claims of fraud, fraudulent inducement and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
On June 22, 2012, Sher Tremonte filed a lawsuit on behalf of its clients, a market research company and its principal, against a hedge fund and investment advisor over a proposed $341 million investment in a fund set up to buy private shares of Facebook. Sher Tremonte’s clients are suing to recover the finder’s fee they were allegedly promised for introducing the investor to the fund. Read the news article here.
On December 12, 2011, Sher Tremonte successfully obtained a temporary restraining order that froze 17 bank accounts across the United States in connection with an alleged international fraud and money laundering scheme. Sher Tremonte’s client, a company based in Dubai, lost over $1.2 million after fraudsters hacked into the company’s e-mail account, sent bogus invoices and directed the company to wire funds to bank accounts in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and the United States. The fraudsters then attempted to launder the money by purchasing used cars from dozens of different companies located throughout the United States. The case is proceeding in the Commercial Division of the New York Supreme Court.
On November 7, 2011, Justin M. Sher, the founder and Managing Partner of Sher LLP, and Michael Tremonte, formerly an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York and a partner at Cohen & Gresser LLP, opened the doors of their new firm, Sher Tremonte LLP. Sher Tremonte provides highly skilled representation to individuals and companies in complex civil litigation, internal investigations and white collar regulatory and criminal matters. Read the press release here.
On June 6, 2011, Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted judgment in favor of Justin Sher’s client, a Taiwanese entertainment company, on its claims of civil RICO and fraud against a booking agency headquartered in South Carolina. The court awarded treble damages and attorney’s fees. Read the news article here.
In a lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court, all claims against Justin Sher’s client were dismissed. The lawsuit involved a dispute over a $40 million investment by the billionaire owner of the Cleveland Browns. A Forbes news article concerning the lawsuit and the dismissal of Mr. Sher’s client may be found here.
On October 8, 2010, Justin Sher successfully resisted an application to attach the assets of its client, W&M Import & Export Ltd., an apparel firm based in Brooklyn, New York. The attachment, sought by a national retail chain, would have frozen W&M Import’s bank accounts and threatened the viability of its business. Upon reviewing Mr. Sher’s submission, the plaintiff withdrew its application, and Justice Fried of the Commercial Division vacated the temporary restraining order. Read the order here.
The Committee on White Collar Criminal Litigation of the New York State Bar Association, of which Justin Sher is a member, published a study on insider trading called, “Criminal Prosecutorial Discretion In Insider Trading Cases: Let’s Look at The Numbers.“ The study examines the factors that appear to determine whether a civil enforcement action brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission will be accompanied by criminal charges in insider trading cases. The study is linked here.
