February 8, 2021
On February 5, 2021, partner Jeffrey M. Eilender and counsel Joshua Wurtzel scored a significant victory for their real-estate partnership client by defeating a German investment company’s motion for summary judgment in lieu of complaint on a $136 million claim. In its motion, the plaintiff argued that it was entitled to reimbursement from the partnership for repaying a partnership debt for which it claimed it was a guarantor, and cast the case as open and shut. But arguing before the court last Friday, Wurtzel persuaded the Honorable Barry R. Ostrager of the New York County Commercial Division that issues of fact existed, including concerning whether the plaintiff had standing and capacity to sue on this claim. This was a major victory for Schlam Stone and its client, and stopped the plaintiff dead in its tracks in its effort to secure accelerated judgment at the outset of the case.