In re Athena Resources, 106 A.D.3d 450 (1st Dept. 2013)

Attorneys Charles F. Gibbs and Andrew W. Heymann successfully defended a client before the N.Y. Supreme Court, which decision was subsequently affirmed by the Appellate Division, dismissing an attempt by the estranged wife of the decedent to enforce a foreign default judgment improperly obtained with respect to the decedent’s non-U.S. estate.

Matter of Reynolds, N.Y.L.J., August 31, 2012 (Sur. Ct., Suffolk County 2012)

Attorneys Andrew W. Heymann and William L. Blum successfully defended the executor from a claim that in entering into a stipulated settlement in a contested estate proceeding he triggered the in terrorem clause of the decedent’s will, which would have denied him a personal share of the estate. The Surrogate’s Court held that the petitioner’s argument “most certainly would violate the long-standing tradition of this and most other Surrogate’s Courts, which seek to find a resolution of the parties’ disputes as a preferred outcome to a trial or summary determination”, and thus dismissed the petition.

Matter of Levovitz, Docket No. 188556 (Ch. Ct., Ocean County 2012)

Attorney Andrew W. Heymann successfully represented the fiduciaries of a New Jersey estate, who were also the nominated trustees under a pour-over trust, from claims of undue influence and conflict of interest, establishing that the decedent had the requisite testamentary capacity and that the will and trust instruments were duly executed. All claims dismissed on summary judgment.

Matter of De Camaret, N.Y.L.J., Nov. 21, 2007, at 36, 2007 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 8323 (Sur. Ct., N.Y. County), aff’d sub nom., In re Meyer, 62 A.D.3d 133 (1st Dept. 2009)

In the first substantial case to revisit public policy principles enunciated by the highest court of the State of New York some 27 years earlier, attorneys Charles F. Gibbs and Andrew W. Heymann vindicated and enforced the client’s sophisticated international estate plan. Attorneys Gibbs and Heymann were successful before the Surrogate’s Court where the court ruled that the forced heirship laws of France did not prevent the client, a French citizen, from disinheriting her son by lifetime gifts or under her American and Bermuda wills. This decision was subsequently affirmed by the Appellate Division, which found that the forced heirship laws of France were inapplicable to the lifetime gifts of New York property, explaining that the validity of lifetime gifts are governed by the state where the property is situated at the time of the transfer.

Matter of Bender, N.Y.L.J. March 27, 2008, at 34, col 6, (Sur. Ct., N.Y. County 2008)

Attorney Charles F. Gibbs successfully defended the proponents of the will from a challenge by the decedent’s grandson, achieving complete success, having the challenger’s petition dismissed for lack of standing. The Surrogate’s Court dismissed the objections filed by the decedent’s grandson who was not a distributee, but who claimed that he was a beneficiary of a prior will.

Nicole Scheidemann v. Qatar Football Association and Qatar National Olympic Committee, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2852 (SDNY, 2008)

Attorney Robert A. Solomon and the litigation team at Solomon Blum Heymann successfully represented the Qatar Football Association (“QFA”) in the defense of a $67 million claim for commissions due and related damages incurred in connection with the arrangement of a “friendly” football (soccer) match between AC Milan and the Qatari National Team and a related sponsorship agreement. Charged with the defense of the matter for the QFA, SBH led a multi-faceted defense of the claims. The firm met with the client in Doha, Qatar and promptly reviewed records and interviewed QFA personnel. As a result of the swift actions of the firm in preserving testimony and discovering client documents, and clear and effective advocacy by the firm, the Court ultimately held, prior to allowing discovery by the plaintiff, that QFA was not an “organ” of the State of Qatar and therefore the claims lacked subject matter jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

Nicole Scheidemann v. Qatar Football Association and Qatar National Olympic Committee, Index No. 600220/08 (Sup. Ct., N.Y. County, 2011)

Attorney Robert A. Solomon and the litigation team at Solomon Blum Heymann successfully represented the Qatar Football Association in the defense of a $67 million claim brought in New York State Court (after dismissal from federal court on jurisdictional grounds) for commissions due and related damages incurred in connection with an alleged agreement to arrange a “friendly” football (soccer) match between AC Milan and the Qatari National Team and a related sponsorship agreement. After limited jurisdictional discovery, the matter was dismissed by the Supreme Court as the purported agreement failed to confer jurisdiction upon New York State Courts.