Commercial Division Blog: Current Developments in the Commercial Divisions of the New York State Courts

On December 4, 2024, Justice Joel M. Cohen granted in part plaintiff’s motion to vacate a Special Referee’s report. The case is Gowen v. Helly Nahmad Gallery, Inc., Index No. 650646/2014. The case concerned a ten-year-old dispute in which the heirs to the owner of a painting by Amedeo Modigliani, which had been stolen by the Nazi regime, sought to recover it from an art dealer who had later acquired it at auction. Read More

On January 23, 2024, Justice Margaret A. Chan of the New York County Commercial Division, issued a decision in Wells Fargo Bank, National Association v. 555 Retail Owner LLC, Index No. 850277/2021, granting the plaintiff’s unopposed motion to confirm the Report and Recommendation issued by the Special Referee calculating the damages and interest owed on a defaulted mortgage and recommending that the mortgage premises be sold in a single parcel. The Court explained: Read More

On February 14, 2023, Justice Margaret Chan of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Pacific Premier Bank v. HNI, LLC, 2023 N.Y. LEXIS 647, confirming the report and recommendation of Special Referee Jeremy R. Feinberg awarding plaintiff nearly $1 million in attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in the litigation pursuant to a contractual provision. The Court explained: Read More