Steven Werth

Select representations include:

• A debtor undergoing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in selling an art collection to an insider, including identifying and valuing more than 600 pieces of art.
• A creditor seeking to foreclose on collateral in receivership, after the debtor filed an intervening Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition.
• A German pharmaceutical company seeking expert testimony in a dispute in Singapore commercial court, relating to bankruptcy sales to non-disclosed insiders.
• A debtor with a 30-unit office building seeking to avoid imminent foreclosure, obtaining an additional 13 months to refinance or sell property.
• A bankruptcy estate seeking to prosecute operators of a Ponzi scheme, obtaining a freeze on $1 million in a secret bank account and return of the investor monies.
• A bankruptcy estate seeking to investigate operators of a Medicare-licensed hospice agency, discovering secret bank accounts and diversion of $2 million in assets, resulting in joint and several judgments against owners of the company.
• A golf course seeking Chapter 11 protection against litigation, obtaining an additional 18 months to refinance or sell property.
• A homeowners’ association adjacent to a golf course in Chapter 11, successfully obtaining dismissal of the case and preventing the owner from converting the course to a residential development.
• A creditor in litigation against the principal of a company for encouraging delivery of a product while knowing the company was about to commence a liquidating bankruptcy case.
• A startup video entertainment company with a significant mall presence in California in renegotiating leases after COVID impacted revenue streams.

Select matters include:

• The landlord of a commercial building in an unlawful detainer trial regarding a tenant no longer operating due to COVID-related restrictions.
• An insurance coverage dispute relating to decades-old claims, resulting in discovery of additional insurance policies and additional coverage under known policies.
• Credit union litigation against an account holder who inadvertently received funds from other account holders and failed to return funds when transfers were discovered.
• Successfully represented a tenant at trial in litigation against a landlord to determine ownership of a Banksy appearing on a leased premises.
• A music industry professional group seeking to foreclose on copyright interests in a music catalogue to satisfy a multi-million-dollar judgment.

Select representations include:

• A landfill operator in three-way litigation with an adjacent homeowner and a municipality regarding cleanup expenses.
• A landfill operator in multi-decade contribution litigation regarding remediation expenses among more than 200 major waste contributors.
• The manufacturer of product asserted to be a pesticide that was not properly registered, in resolving a dispute prior to litigation.