The Law Offices of Sanford F. Young, P.C.

Getting results since 1978

Settlements

Complex Litigation

Sanford F. Young, the founder and principal of the firm, has established a reputation for his expertise handling complex civil litigation and appeals since 1977.

Since its establishment in March 1978, The Law Offices of Sanford F. Young P.C. (formerly known as Young and Young), has been dedicated to providing outstanding, high-quality legal services to small to medium-sized businesses and individuals. Here is a sampling of the many difficult and challenging cases Mr. Young has handled:

Commercial/Contract Cases/Insurance

$2 Million Awarded to Insurance Agency. In a case reported in the New York Times (Aug. 14, 2003), Mr. Young won an award of in excess of $2 million on behalf of owR Opinion, a New Jersey general life insurance agency, against John Hancock. The award for his client’s lost commissions came after four weeks of hearings involving the carrier’s refusal to issue numerous life insurance policies representing in excess of $100 million in death benefits.

Successfully Defended Against $30 million claim for Faulty Computer System. Following a 9-week jury trial, Mr. Young won a verdict convincing a New York jury that his client, a major computer provider, caused no loss to the plaintiff.

Obtained Immediate Injunction to Prevent Improper Use of Client’s Valuable Business Name. Mr. Young successfully represented a nationally known motivational and health celebrity by obtaining an immediate injunction against the client’s former partners to prevent their continued misuse of the client’s valuable name and celebrity to divert business to their own website. Mr. Young was able to demonstrate how the former partners unlawfully used their website and its computer codes to divert potential and existing clients away from the client’s website to their site. After winning a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, the matter was quickly and permanently settled.

Construction Defects. After being brought in to take over an 8-year-old lawsuit on behalf of a medical doctor who was suing the builder, architect and engineers of his newly-constructed medical offices for uninhabitability due to sewer back-ups, Mr. Young was able to establish defects in construction and succeeded in obtaining a substantial six-figure settlement.

Music Royalty/Residuals for Composer and Performer. Mr. Young successfully represented and settled a case on behalf of a music composer and singer who wrote and performed in jingles used for a popular and long-running series of commercials for a major food chain.

Persuaded Jury that Promissory Note Was a Forgery. Using his skill at cross-examining expert and other witnesses, Mr. Young proved that his client’s signature on a promissory note was a forgery, and the jury agreed.

Convinced Court it Did Not Have Jurisdiction Based on Internet Sale; Breach of Contract Case Dismissed. Mr. Young defended an Internet supplier of computer parts in a breach of contract action. Granting Mr. Young’s motion to dismiss, the court held that it did not have jurisdiction as defendant did not have the minimum contacts required to warrant the court’s long-arm jurisdiction. Case reported in the New York Law Journal, 4/15/99, Messilia v. Costa.

Defense Against Business Loans. Mr. Young defended a businessman whose company was being sued by several governmental lenders who claimed that he defaulted in paying off approximately one million dollars in loans. By asserting vigorous defenses, including that the lenders breached their own promises to assist the lender’s business, Mr. Young was able to avert a judgment.

Mysterious Loss of 12-Carat Diamond Ring. Representing the owner/insured, Mr. Young brought suit against the insurance carrier for the loss of this valuable ring. Although the carrier claimed that the loss was mysterious, Mr. Young exacted a substantial settlement.

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Art Fraud, Misrepresentation, Warranty and Authenticity

Art fraud — Winslow Homer oil painting case settled for six figures. Mr. Young represented an art collector and dealer who owned a Winslow Homer oil painting. A major New York dealer informed her that its expert could not authenticate the painting, but that it could sell it as a “nice painting” to one of its collectors. A few months after selling it to that dealer, she learned that the painting was resold at a substantial profit as an authentic Homer. After bringing suit against the dealer, expert and purchaser, Mr. Young uncovered proof that the expert wrote a second opinion authenticating the painting as a Homer and was including it in his new book, and that the profit was shared three ways. Defendants quickly settled for a substantial sum.

Art Fraud — Rembrandt Etching: Settled on behalf of defrauded defendant. Mr. Young represented an antiques dealer who sold a Rembrandt etching to a major New York dealer and expert. The dealer later sued the seller, claiming that after he resold it to a collector, they learned that it was a forgery. On being retained on the eve of trial, Mr. Young persuaded the court to reopen discovery, through which he established that the claimed forgery the dealer resold was not the same etching sold by his client. Among the facts established were significant differences in the paper quality, the resold etching did not match the description in the original’s bill of sale from Mr. Young’s client, and the New York dealer had been involved in other irregular transactions. Within days, the case was settled.

Art Fraud and Conversion – Martin Johnson Heade oil painting: Mr. Young represented a collector who consigned this oil painting to a small dealer for possible resale. After the painting was returned to Mr. Young’s client as unsold, a major Manhattan gallery claimed they had bought the painting and was the rightful owner. Mr. Young discovered that there was an unusual intermediary transaction involving another major dealer who bought the painting under suspicious circumstances. As a result, Mr. Young was instrumental in obtaining a substantial settlement from that dealer without the necessity of suing them.

Employment Law Cases

Breach of Employment Agreement – appeal & jury verdict won: In this federal law breach of employment contract case against a major Long Island company to recover unpaid commissions, Mr. Young was retained after the client lost his first trial. After winning the appeal in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, Mr. Young tried the case in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and won a jury verdict awarding the client 100% of the damages sought, amounting in the upper six figures. See, Szafran v. Sandata Technologies, Inc., 205 Fed.Appx 864, 2006 WL 3218650 (2nd Cir.) [reversed District Court, new trial granted; breach of employment agreement].

Breach of Covenant Not to Compete – injunction granted: Mr. Young represented a major computer software company and succeeded in obtaining a preliminary injunction against a former employee and his new employer, a competitor, barring them from soliciting other employees for one year.

Whistle Blower Case Settled on Appeal for $5.65 million dollars: Mr. Young handled an appeal on behalf of two hospital executives who lost their positions after blowing the whistle on corporate waste and favoritism. During the appeals process, Mr. Young was able to obtain a settlement for them for $5.65 million dollars.

Employment Discrimination Case Settled: Mr. Young handled the appeal of a hospital intern who was denied promotion due to national origin discrimination. On appeal, the case settled for six figures.

Legal & Professional Malpractice

Failure to Advise Client of Major Regulatory and Environmental Requirements. In a recent New Jersey legal malpractice case, Mr. Young represented a client who was building a chemical plant in the New York metropolitan area. Halfway through the project the client discovered that the law firm, a multinational firm, he hired to handle the legal and contractual requirements for the project and ensure compliance with the regulatory and environmental laws, overlooked and failed to advise the client of the need to comply with a critical set of statutes and regulations, requiring a major re-alteration of the project, causing a year’s delay in completion. Within four months of his retention, Mr. Young settled the matter in the high six-figures.

Attorneys Who Missed Deadline for Filing a Medical Practice Suit Settled for Substantial Sum: Mr. Young recently settled a substantial legal malpractice suit brought against several New York lawyers who were retained to prosecute a medical podiatry malpractice case for damages arising from an unnecessary and botched bunionectomy by a well-known Manhattan surgeon, but failed to bring the action before the statute of limitations ran out. After defeating the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, whereby Mr. Young was able to convince the court that a jury could find both medical and legal malpractice, the matter was settled.

Matrimonial Attorney Settled Malpractice Claim: In another recent case, Mr. Young brought suit against a prominent New Jersey matrimonial firm for not properly advising their client of her divorce settlement options. Mr. Young was able to convince the firm to settle within five months after the suit was commenced.

Failure to Plead Affirmative Requirements; case settled for in excess of half-million dollars. Mr. Young represented a client who won a substantial trial verdict against a Long Island defendant only to have it thrown out due to her trial lawyer’s failure to properly plead her case in the initial complaint and due to his erroneous choice of appellate methods. When the client consulted Mr. Young to determine if she had any further appellate remedies – which she did not – Mr. Young immediately recognized and advised her that her trial lawyer committed legal malpractice. Mr. Young brought a malpractice suit against the trial lawyer, and despite various complex legal issues and the disclaimer by the trial lawyer’s malpractice carrier, Mr. Young was able to negotiate a large settlement.

Defended Non-Covered Attorney; case settled with proceeds and our fees paid by New Carrier. Mr. Young represented an attorney who had a malpractice case against him, but arguably did not have malpractice coverage. Notwithstanding that and other problems, Mr. Young was able to persuade the insurance carrier to settle, as well as pay Mr. Young’s fees.

Insurance Agency’s Malpractice: Case settled with insurance proceeds and our fees paid by carrier. Mr. Young represented an insurance agency involved in a scandal over the possible misapplication of insurance premiums. Mr. Young was able to convince the agency’s malpractice carrier to pay out the entire policy limit toward settlement, as well as a substantial portion of his fees, even though there were numerous issues over whether the claim for fraud and conversion was covered.

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Boating/Maritime/Admiralty

Mr. Young successfully represented a major manufacturer of luxury sports cruisers in numerous cases.

The Yacht that Sunk Several Days After Delivery. Mr. Young defended the boat manufacturer against the purchaser’s subrogor (insurance carrier) who claimed that the yacht sank due to defective design and construction. Mr. Young defended on the basis that the yacht was improperly docked, and as a result, was caught by the current and ebbing tide and hung up under the dock. On the eve of trial, the case settled on very favorable terms.

The 65-foot Yacht that Caught Fire Off Shore. After an older yacht caught fire, the owner sued our client, the manufacturer, claiming defects. Mr. Young successfully moved to have the case dismissed based on the fact that the incident occurred beyond the New York State’s territorial waters. Because the statute of limitations ran out, the case could not be renewed against Mr. Young’s client.

Contract and Warranty Claims. Mr. Young successfully defended the manufacturer in several cases involving breach of warranty and breach of sales agreement, in which he established that there was no privity between the buyers, who purchased their yachts through independent dealers, and the manufacturer, whose warranty was expressly limited.

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Wrongful Death/Product Liability/Personal Injury /Civil Rights

Erroneous Credit Report Suit: Mr. Young brought suit against the three major credit reporting agencies for distributing inaccurate, disparaging credit information. That case was settled for an undisclosed sum.

Detainee Who Allegedly Hanged Himself While in Jail; Case settled. Mr. Young represented the estate of a young man who was arrested for pulling a false fire alarm on the eve of his brother’s wedding. Later that evening the detainee was found hanging in his cell. The estate claimed that the circumstances of the arrest and detention proved that the death was not a suicide. That case was settled for structured payments to the decedent’s son.

False Arrest and Malicious Prosecution. In an appeal argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Mr. Young convinced the Court that there were factual issues as to whether the City had probable cause for its prosecution. The Court reasoned that a jury could find that the indictment was secured through bad faith or perjury and that there was a malicious prosecution.

Recovery for Man Shot in Mall. This client sustained severe injuries when he was shot by an individual with whom he had been arguing in a crowded shopping center. He subsequently sued the shopping center on the basis of its negligent security practices. Sanford F. Young was retained and successfully opposed the defendant’s motion for summary judgment. The case was subsequently settled for a substantial amount.

82-Year-Old Man Caught in Revolving Door. Mr. Young represented the estate of an 82-year-old man to recover for his wrongful death and injuries sustained when his foot was caught by a revolving door of an Atlantic City casino. The man suffered a broken hip and after two month’s hospitalization, died of heart failure. The case was settled for six figures.

Underinsurance Claim Award for Maximum Limit. Mr. Young sued his client’s automobile insurance carrier for coverage under the underinsurance/uninsured motorist coverage provision. After trial, the arbitration panel awarded the full amount of the policy.

Recovery for Man Stabbed in Bar. Plaintiff, a patron in the defendants’ bar, was stabbed by another customer. Sanford F. Young was retained to oppose the bar’s motion to vacate a judgment, entered 1-1/2 years earlier. The case settled for a substantial amount.

Defamation in Europe; Case Dismissed. Mr. Young represented a defendant being sued for alleged defamation that occurred in Poland. The client was sued in New York. Mr. Young convinced the court to dismiss for forum non-conveniens as the event and most witnesses were in Poland.

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Real Estate/Landlord-Tenant

Rent Strike Successfully Settled. Mr. Young represented a group of tenants involved in a lengthy and contentious rent strike against their luxury high-rise apartment in Manhattan. After successfully defending and cross-moving against numerous motions by the landlord and its several law firms, Mr. Young negotiated a comprehensive and confidential settlement providing for extensive repairs and substantial rent rebates.

Commercial Mortgage Foreclosure Settled. Mr. Young represented the owner of a commercial building against a mortgage foreclosure action. By vigorously asserting defenses as to who was responsible for the non-payment, Mr. Young persuaded the bank to discontinue the action and refinance the property.

Cohabitation Rights. Mr. Young handled one of the earliest cases involving rights of cohabitation by gay partners.

Rights of Succession. Mr. Young argued a landmark rent stabilization succession case which resulted in the codification of succession rights among family members.

Rent Stabilization – Non-Primary Residents or Professional Uses. Mr. Young handled numerous non-primary resident, as well as professional use-cases that resulted in fair rents and other substantial benefits for his clients.

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PRIOR RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE A SIMILAR OUTCOME.