David Ross Quoted in The Real Deal on Win for Client Ziel Feldman

Partner David Ross was quoted in The Real Deal’s article entitled “Ziel Feldman scores win in lawsuit brought by Wix’s Avishai Abrahami,” after successfully defending a complex summary judgment motion on behalf of Morrison Cohen client Feldman, the former CEO of real estate firm HFZ Capital Group. The Court, which adopted many of David’s arguments, denied Abrahami’s summary judgment motion, which sought a judgment in excess of $30 million.

Earlier this year, Nir Meir was charged by the Manhattan D.A.’s office as the mastermind behind an $86 million criminal fraud scheme that involved moving money from different HFZ projects.

In the instant lawsuit brought by Abrahami, he sought to hold Feldman responsible for a guarantee on a $30 million loan secured in the fall of 2020. However, by virtue of David’s efforts, Abrahami was forced to concede that Feldman had no knowledge of the loan, that his signature had been forged by Meir and that Meir had misappropriated the loan proceeds.

As a result, New York Supreme Court Justice Andrea Masley ruled that Feldman cannot be held liable on the guarantee and ordered the case to go to trial. Justice Masley further said that “Meir misappropriated most of the proceeds from the Abrahami loan,” and that “a trial is necessary to determine whether Feldman ratified the guarantee.”

“We are pleased with the court’s well-reasoned decision,” said David, who represented Feldman.

The ruling could be consequential for Feldman who can likely use the judge’s decision to further appeal other lawsuits where judges have ruled that Feldman should be responsible for loans bearing his signature.

Read the full article here.