New York, NY (PRWEB) May 17, 2012

Kenneth R. Feinberg, one of the nation’s leading experts in mediation and alternative dispute resolution, will address the graduates at New York Law School’s 120th Commencement on Monday, May 21, 2012, at Radio City Music Hall at 11 a.m. Feinberg, who served as Special Master of the Federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, will also receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

The School will graduate xx students: 520 candidates for the Juris Doctor (J.D.), 41 candidates for the Master of Laws (LL.M.), and 1 candidates for the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Mental Disability Law Studies.

The President’s Medal of Honor will be awarded to two recipients: the Honorable Roger J. Miner ’56 (posthumously) and James F. Simon, Martin Professor of Law Emeritus and Dean Emeritus of New York Law School. The award is given to the Law School’s most outstanding and accomplished alumni and its most generous benefactors, and acknowledges those who have made the most significant contributions to the history of the Law School by their exemplary professional lives and their generosity.

About the Commencement Speaker

Kenneth R. Feinberg is the Founder and Managing Partner of Feinberg Rozen, LLP. He has been a Court-Appointed Special Settlement Master, mediator, and arbitrator in thousands of disputes. Feinberg was designated by the Obama Administration and British Petroleum (BP) to serve as Administrator, Gulf Coast Claims Facility in 2010. He was appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury in 2009 to serve as the Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation, responsible for determining annual compensation packages for senior corporate officials at companies that received the most taxpayer financial assistance. Feinberg was appointed by the Attorney General of the United States to serve as the Special Master of the Federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. In this role he developed and promulgated the regulations governing the administration of the fund and administered all aspects of the program. He was also the Fund Administrator responsible for the design, implementation, and administration of the claims process for the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund following the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech. Feinberg received his B.A. cum laude from the University of Massachusetts in 1967 and his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1970, where he was Articles Editor of the Law Review. He was a law clerk for Chief Judge Stanley H. Fuld, New York State Court of Appeals from 1970 to 1972; Assistant United States Attorney, Southern District of New York from 1972 to 1975; Special Counsel, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary from 1975 to 1980; Administrative Assistant to Senator Edward M. Kennedy from 1977 to 1979; Partner at Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays Handler from 1980 to 1993; and founded The Feinberg Group, LLP in 1993. In 2004, Feinberg was named “Lawyer of the Year” by The National Law Journal, and has been named repeatedly as one of “The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America” by The National Law Journal. He is the author of numerous articles and essays on mediation, mass torts, and other matters, as well as What Is Life Worth? The Unprecedented Effort to Compensate the Victims of 9/11 (Public Affairs 2005).

About the President’s Medal of Honor Recipients

Hon. Roger J. Miner ’56 (1934-2012), Trustee Emeritus and Former Adjunct Professor of Law at New York Law School, was a widely respected senior judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. His name twice appeared on presidential short-lists for possible nomination to the United States Supreme Court. In 1976, at the age of 41, Judge Miner became one of the youngest justices of the New York State Supreme Court; he served there until 1981, when President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. In 1985, President Reagan appointed Judge Miner to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, where he served for nearly three decades. Judge Miner graduated cum laude from New York Law School in 1956 and served as the first Managing Editor of the Law Review. He was admitted to practice in New York and in the United States Court of Military Appeals. He served on active military duty from 1956 to 1959, and later with the Army Reserve, obtaining the rank of captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Judge Miner was awarded the Commendation Ribbon with Medal Pendant for his work on the revision of the Manual for Courts-Martial. He was admitted to the Bar of the Republic of Korea in 1958, a rare honor for an American. Judge Miner received an honorary LL.D. from New York Law School in 1989; he subsequently received honorary LL.D. degrees from both Albany Law School and Syracuse University.

James F. Simon, Martin Professor of Law Emeritus and Dean Emeritus of New York Law School, is a nationally recognized scholar of constitutional law and award-winning author of eight books on American history, law, and politics. He served as Dean of New York Law School from 1983 to 1992. Among the School’s many achievements during that time are: the gathering of the largest, most productive faculty since the institution’s founding; the introduction of numerous academic initiatives; the increasing diversity and quality of the student body; and the expansion and improvement of facilities. A former contributing editor and correspondent for TIME magazine, Dean Simon is the author of seven major works on the modern Supreme Court and its justices, including What Kind of Nation: Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, and the Epic Struggle to Create a United States. His books have won the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award and twice been named New York Times Notable Books. His most recent book, FDR and Chief Justice Hughes: The President, the Supreme Court, and the Epic Battle Over the New Deal, has been praised by historian Jean Edward Smith as a “marvelously written, meticulously researched study.” Dean Simon, a graduate of Yale College and the Yale Law School, served as a Ford Foundation Fellow in India, a Harvard Fellow in Law and the Humanities, and as Visiting Lecturer in American Studies at Yale University. He joined the faculty of New York Law School in 1975, and has taught courses in Constitutional Law, Legal Journalism, and the Modern Supreme Court. A former trustee of NYLS, he received an honorary LL.D. degree from the School in 1992 and was named Martin Professor of Law in 1993.

About New York Law School

Founded in 1891, New York Law School is an independent law school located in lower Manhattan near the city’s centers of law, government, and finance. New York Law School’s renowned faculty of prolific scholars has built the School’s strength in such areas as constitutional law, civil and human rights, labor and employment law, media and information law, tax law, real estate and urban legal studies, international law, financial services and regulation, and a number of interdisciplinary fields. The School is noted for its nine academic centers: Center on Business Law Policy, Center on Financial Services Law, Center for International Law, Center for New York City Law, Center for Professional Values and Practice, Center for Real Estate Studies, Diane Abbey Law Center for Children and Families, Institute for Information Law Policy, and Justice Action Center. New York Law School has more than 13,000 graduates and currently enrolls some 1,350 full-time students and 400 part-time students in its J.D. program and its four advanced degree programs in financial services law, real estate, tax, and mental disability law studies. http://www.nyls.edu

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/5/prweb9514674.htm

Prominent Attorney Kenneth R. Feinberg to Speak at New York Law School’s 120th … is a post from: New York Lawyers And Attorneys

Article source: http://www.timesunion.com/business/press-releases/article/Prominent-Attorney-Kenneth-R-Feinberg-to-Speak-3565697.php

The jury, citing overwhelming evidence, voted to convict.

Rajat Gupta — the ex-Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) (GS) director
whose own insider-trading trial begins May 21 — chose a lawyer
with a different style: Gary Naftalis, an affable presence in
the elite New York white-collar defense bar who recently
attended a reception for a Rajaratnam prosecutor at his new law
firm and who socializes with the judge presiding over the Gupta
trial.

“Why is he so good? Because he’s very disarming,” said
Charles Carberry, a friend and a former federal prosecutor.
“Gary has a way of talking to people that’s non-
confrontational,” said Carberry, now a partner at Jones Day in
New York. “There’s nothing about him that reeks of arrogance.”

A jury in Manhattan will determine whether the 70-year-old
Naftalis’s low-key style wins Gupta the acquittal that eluded
Rajaratnam, who’s serving 11 years in prison. Of almost 90
criminal trials last year in the federal district that includes
Manhattan, the Bronx and some suburban counties, all but about
eight ended in conviction, according to the office of U.S.
Attorney Preet Bharara, who’s prosecuting the case.

No Acquittals

Four of those convictions last year were in insider-trading
cases, including Rajaratnam’s. Sixty-six people have been
charged since August 2009 in the U.S. crackdown on illegal
tipping, and 59 have pleaded guilty or been convicted at a
trial. No one has won a not-guilty verdict. Some cases are
pending.

“It has been increasingly difficult to get acquittals in
white-collar cases,” Theodore Wells, co-chairman of the
litigation department at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton
Garrison LLP, told a gathering of defense lawyers on May 14.
“There’s more of an anti-corporate attitude” among jurors,
said Wells, who isn’t involved in Gupta’s case.

Gupta, who ran consulting firm McKinsey Co. from 1994 to
2003 and also sat on the Procter Gamble Co. (PG) (PG) board, is charged
with conspiracy and securities fraud. Prosecutors say he gave
Rajaratnam material, nonpublic information about New York-based
Goldman Sachs and Cincinnati-based PG, the world’s largest
consumer-products company. Securities fraud carries a maximum
20-year prison sentence.

‘Illicit Profits”

Tips included details of Goldman Sachs’s earnings (GS) in the
first quarter of 2007 and fourth quarter of 2008, as well as the
$5 billion investment in the bank by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire
Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) (A) in September 2008, prosecutors said. The leaks
generated “illicit profits and loss avoidance” of more than
$23 million for Galleon, the Securities and Exchange Commission
said in a related lawsuit.

Gupta’s trial won’t be like Rajaratnam’s, which was built
on dozens of wiretapped phone calls in which the hedge fund co-
founder could be heard swapping tips. Former colleagues also
testified for the prosecution.

The Gupta jury will hear a circumstantial case, centered on
the timing of trades after conversations between the two men,
plus a smaller number of wiretapped phone calls. Prosecutors say
Rajaratnam can be heard on the tapes referring to Gupta without
naming him.

“We think the government has a lousy case,” Naftalis told
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in court April 16 in a failed bid
to exclude the wiretaps. In court papers, he has called the
indictment “a case without any direct evidence” and said other
Goldman Sachs employees may have tipped Rajaratnam.

Big Names

Naftalis, who is co-chairman of New York-based Kramer Levin
Naftalis Frankel LLP, comes to Gupta’s defense after
representing some of the biggest names on Wall Street.

His clients have included Michael Eisner, the former Walt
Disney Co. (DIS) (DIS) CEO whom Naftalis successfully defended at a 2005
civil trial over claims that he breached his duty to
shareholders, and ex-Refco Inc. Chief Executive Officer Phillip Bennett, who is serving 16 years in prison after pleading guilty
in a $2.4 billion securities fraud.

In the early 1990s, Naftalis persuaded prosecutors not to
file criminal charges against Salomon Brothers in a bond-trading
scandal. He’s now defending Muriel Siebert, the founder of
Siebert Financial Corp., against civil claims of wrongful
termination by an ex-employee.

“He’s shown a knowledge of the Street, and he’s very
smart,” Siebert, the first woman to own a seat on the New York
Stock Exchange, said in an interview. “In our case, he knew the
discount business, what duties were involved. But I think he has
a general knowledge — he’s not a fast-talking person.”

Not New

Nor is he new to insider-trading cases. In the mid-1980s,
Naftalis represented Robert Wilkis, a Lazard Freres Co. banker
who came under scrutiny for illegal trades and for tipping
Dennis Levine, a managing director at Drexel Burnham Lambert
Inc., about a takeover. After agreeing to plead guilty and
cooperate with prosecutors, Levine taped a call with Wilkis, who
pleaded guilty.

“He made his assessment that his client had no defense,”
Carberry, who was the prosecutor, said in an interview. Wilkis
didn’t return a call seeking comment on the case.

In 1987, Naftalis helped persuade prosecutors not to charge
his client Kidder Peabody Co., which had been acquired by
General Electric Co. and would have been devastated by an
indictment, Carberry said. The brokerage faced potential
liability for the illegal trades of an employee, Martin Siegel,
who also pleaded guilty and who was represented by Naftalis’s
friend Rakoff.

New Jersey Native

A native of Newark, New Jersey, Naftalis graduated from
Rutgers University and pursued a master’s degree in history at
Brown University before enrolling at New York’s Columbia Law
School, where he earned a degree in 1967. He went to work for
the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, where Rakoff was among his
colleagues.

The two have remained friends. In 2009, the judge
officiated at the wedding of one of Naftalis’s sons, and in
court the two sometimes trade friendly banter.

Naftalis has one son who is a Manhattan federal prosecutor
and a second about to be sworn in. Last week, when Naftalis
asked for a delay in proceedings on May 22 to attend the
ceremony, Rakoff suggested that he, Naftalis and the Gupta
prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Reed Brodsky, all go
together. Naftalis agreed.

Naftalis, who declined to comment for this article, tells
his clients he’s a hands-on litigator who will make all
decisions except one: whether to testify. A skier and fan of the
New York Mets baseball team and the New York Knicks basketball
team, he revels in the competition of a trial.

‘Candy Store’

“I’m sort of like a kid in a candy store,” he said in a
January interview with lawdragon.com, a website for lawyers. “I
like it all, but I really like giving opening statements.”

Gregory Williams, a lawyer at Richards Layton Finger PA
in Wilmington, Delaware, watched Naftalis dissect rival claims
in the trial over whether Eisner and Walt Disney’s directors
violated their fiduciary duty by paying ex-President Michael Ovitz $140 million in severance.

“He disarms you with kindness, but he is extremely
effective,” said Williams, who represented Disney directors at
the trial. “He has an unassuming, laid-back style that is
extremely effective.”

Style alone didn’t win the Disney case, Williams said.
Naftalis was also well-prepared and agile in the courtroom, he
said. Carberry said two of Naftalis’s longtime partners, Alan Friedman and David Frankel, are also nimble litigators. Frankel
is joining in Gupta’s defense.

‘Good Reception’

“Credibility is the key to being a lawyer,” Naftalis told
lawdragon.com. “If you make representations that turn out not
to be accurate, or if you take positions that are over the top
or not supported by the facts, you will not get a good
reception.”

Naftalis will push back when he must. At a May 16 hearing
in the Gupta case, he raised his voice and paced, calling a
prosecution argument “demonstrably incorrect.” And an
avuncular manner can mask his guile, as when he offhandedly
mentioned at the close of an April 20 hearing that the U.S. was
probing another Goldman Sachs employee for insider trading.

“He wins over jurors by his sensible approach,” said
Robert Morgenthau, who hired Naftalis as a federal prosecutor
when he was Manhattan U.S. attorney. Juries “instinctively”
trust him, said Morgenthau, who after nine years heading the
U.S. attorney’s office served for 35 years as Manhattan district
attorney.

Style Matters

Style matters, said Tom Dewey, a lawyer at New York’s Dewey
Pegno Kramarsky LLP, who isn’t involved in the Gupta case.

John Dowd, Rajaratnam’s ex-Marine lawyer, brought a “no-
holds-barred, confrontational, fight-for-every-inch approach”
to combat multiple witnesses and wiretaps, Dewey said in an
interview. He sparred with witnesses at the Rajaratnam trial and
occasionally snapped at a prosecutor.

In Gupta’s case, where the evidence may be less concrete,
“a more low-key approach may well be warranted,” Dewey said.

Dowd declined to comment for this story, said Ben Harris, a
spokesman at his law firm, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer Feld.

“In most criminal cases, the defendant does not testify,
so for that reason alone the style and presentation of the
defendant’s lawyer are enormously significant to a jury,” Dewey
said. “Gary is just as tough, but in a much more understated,
buttoned-down fashion.”

The case is U.S. v. Gupta, 11-cr-907, U.S. District Court,
Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporters on this story:
David Glovin in Manhattan federal court at
dglovin@bloomberg.net;
Patricia Hurtado in Manhattan federal court at phurtado@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net.

Gupta’s Lawyer Seeks Victory Where Rajaratnam’s Failed is a post from: New York Lawyers And Attorneys

Article source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-18/gupta-s-lawyer-seeks-victory-where-rajaratnam-s-failed

Tebow’s lawyers issued a cease-and-desist letter to the website Cubbytees.com last month requesting the removal of a T-shirt due to “deceptive trade practices,” according to TMZ.com.

The shirt does not use Tebow’s name or likeness, but employs the Jets’ oval logo and replaces “NY JETS” with “MY JESUS.”
There is a fish branded with a cross on it, as well. The link to Tebow is spelled out in the product description on the website:

“Now that the NFL’s most popular player has moved his pulpit from Denver to New York City, he’ll no longer simply be delivering sermons from the mountains — he’ll have the attention of the world’s premier media market. Jets for Jesus! Whether his message — or his playing skills — will thrive under the bright lights of Gotham remains to be seen. . . . but we know that a legion of believers will have faith in him. He’s not just looking to cure lepers, but heal Gang Green!”

The website attempts to distance itself from infringement issues with its disclaimer below the Tebow section:

“Cubby Tee designs represent original artistic expressions inspired by our love of various teams and sports, but (obviously) are not official team/league/player merchandise or endorsed by any team or league or player in any way.”

A call to Tebow’s attorney, Wendy M. Kirk, was not immediately returned. The website did not respond to an email.

The T-shirt was still available, in green or white, on Thursday afternoon. Prices ranged from $19.95-$25.

COPLES GETS 4-YEAR DEAL
The Jets believe Quinton Coples will be one of the bedrocks of their defensive line for years to come. The Daily News first reported on Twitter on Thursday that the Jets had agreed to terms on a deal with their first-round pick.

Coples agreed to a standard, fully guaranteed four-year contract with a fifth-year team option.

Coples, the 16th pick of this year’s draft out of North Carolina, is expected to earn slightly less than 15th pick Bruce Irvin’s $9.3 million deal that included a $5.2 million signing bonus. Gang Green also signed seventh-round safety Antonio Allen. Only third-round linebacker Demario Davis and seventh-round wide receiver Jordan White remain unsigned.

ELLIS REACHES PLEA AGREEMENT
As expected, second-year defensive lineman Kenrick Ellis reached a plea agreement on Thursday in his malicious wounding case. According to a court official, Ellis, who was charged with a Class 3 felony, agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge. It’s unclear if Ellis will serve any jail time at this point. If he is required to do so, he may be credited for time already served.

A team source told the Daily News that Ellis, who is not a U.S. citizen, isn’t expected be deported to his native Jamaica. The Jets were given assurances by Ellis’ camp long ago that he would accept a lesser charge and be back with the team this season.

Ellis was arrested in April of 2010 by Hampton University police in Virginia after allegedly attacking another student. After the Jets drafted Ellis in the third round last year, sources told The NO1DailyNONews that he was defending his girlfriend at the time.

Lawyers for NY Jets quarterback Tim Tebow threaten legal action against … is a post from: New York Lawyers And Attorneys

Article source: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/lawyers-ny-jets-quarterback-tim-tebow-threaten-legal-action-website-selling-jesus-t-shirts-article-1.1080044

Hanging caused death of wife of Robert Kennedy Jr.: autopsy is a post from: New York Lawyers And Attorneys

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/hanging-caused-death-wife-robert-kennedy-jr-autopsy-165012290.html

While the cause of death has yet been officially confirmed, US media reports said she was found hanged. A post-mortem is scheduled for Thursday.

Her death is the latest in a long line of tragedies to plague the Kennedy clan.

The architect and designer had four children with Kennedy, the son of the late Senator Robert F Kennedy and nephew of President John F Kennedy .

He is a prominent New York environmentalist and lawyer.

A statement issued by Mrs Kennedy‘s family said: “We deeply regret the death of our beloved sister Mary, whose radiant and creative spirit will be sorely missed by those who loved her.”

In a statement released by Mr Kennedy chief-of-staff, the family said she “inspired our family with her kindness, her love, her gentle soul and generous spirit”.

“Mary was a genius at friendship, a tremendously gifted architect and a pioneer and relentless advocate of green design who enhanced her cutting edge, energy efficient creations with exquisite taste and style,” the statement read.

Officials said Mrs Kennedy, who had fought drug and alcohol problems, was discovered by police in a building at the Kennedy property in Mount Kisco.

Her lawyer said the couple had filed for divorce in 2010, but it was never finalised.

Kennedy Wife Found Dead At New York Home is a post from: New York Lawyers And Attorneys

Article source: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/kennedy-wife-found-dead-york-home-050134530.html

The analysis by Bridge Associates LLC issued on Dec. 5,
2008, found that MBIA was “solvent and not impaired” under New
York insurance law and that its underwriting and surveillance
procedures were consistent with practices in the industry, said
Michael Steinberg, a lawyer for Sullivan Cromwell who
represents the banks.

Bridge Associate’s opinion, which cost MBIA $1.15 million,
was done in 2 1/2 weeks and was based only on information as of
Sept. 30, 2008, Steinberg said. The suing banks have said the
insurer concealed from regulators a $3.75 million study by
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. that showed the company’s MBIA
Insurance unit was insolvent and that a policyholders’ purported
surplus of $3.3 billion was actually negative.

“The department didn’t do a solvency review,” Steinberg
said in court today. “They didn’t have time.”

New York State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Kapnick is
overseeing a nonjury trial in Manhattan on the banks’ claims
that the Feb. 17, 2009, approval of MBIA’s proposal by then-
Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo was based on misleading
information and violated insurance law.

Misleading Information

More than a dozen financial institutions sued Armonk, New
York-based MBIA and the state insurance department in 2009 over
the restructuring. Bank of America Corp. and Societe Generale SA (GLE)
are the only banks left in the litigation after JPMorgan Chase
Co. (JPM), Morgan Stanley, UBS AG and others dropped out.

The banks claimed the restructuring harmed them as
policyholders by transferring $5 billion in assets out of the
MBIA unit that insured risky mortgage debt, exposing the banks
to potential losses. Bank of America and Societe Generale have
another lawsuit pending against MBIA while MBIA is suing Bank of
America over mortgage loans.

The insurance regulator approved the restructuring after
finding that all policyholders would be protected, while a well-
capitalized insurer would be established for the municipal bond
market, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office has said in
filings in the case. The state and MBIA argue the insurance
department’s approval is entitled to “deference.”

State Senate Probe

New York Republican state senators James Seward, chairman
of the senate’s insurance committee, and Carl Marcellino said in
a statement yesterday they were considering conducting an
inquiry and holding hearings on MBIA’s restructuring.

At the outset of today’s proceedings, lawyers representing
MBIA and the state insurance department urged Kapnick to ask
whether the banks, their attorneys or consultants had prior
knowledge of the statement or were involved in preparing it.

“We are entitled to these answers,” Marc Kasowitz, a
lawyer representing MBIA, said. “We think this is improper and
has potential consequences.”

Kapnick said it would be “of some concern” if the banks’
lawyers or lobbyists were involved, and asked Robert Giuffra, a
Sullivan Cromwell lawyer representing the banks, whether he
had a hand in the statement. Giuffra responded that he learned
about the press release from a reporter yesterday. The judge
ordered the proceedings to continue.

The trial is scheduled to resume tomorrow at 10 a.m. New
York time.

The case is ABN Amro Bank NV v. MBIA Inc., 601475-2009, New
York state Supreme Court, New York County (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story:
Chris Dolmetsch in New York at
cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net.

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New York Relied on MBIA-Hired Firm for Approval, Lawyer Says is a post from: New York Lawyers And Attorneys

Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-17/new-york-relied-on-mbia-hired-firm-for-approval-lawyer-says-1-.html

One says he was groped by Travolta while performing a massage at the Eden Roc resort in Miami in 2000. The other said the “Pulp Fiction” star grabbed his crotch at the Westin Seattle following a Qantas event in 2000.

Both men contacted lawyer Okorie Okorocha after he filed a $2 million federal lawsuit on behalf of two other masseurs accusing Travolta of sexual shenanigans.
Those masseurs have since withdrawn their claims and hired high-profile lawyer Gloria Allred.

“Hearing about all the cases now, I regret not saying something sooner,” Jeff, the former Eden Roc masseur, told the Daily News.

The 46-year-old described his alleged run-in with Travolta on the condition his last name be withheld.
He said Travolta requested extra work on his inner thighs during the massage.

“He was putting his hands where he wanted me to work and kind of grinding on the table,” Jeff claimed Thursday. “At one point, he actually pulled my hand between his legs, up to his scrotum.”

Jeff said he pulled back and accepted the actor’s apology. “I started working on his other leg, and it all started back up again. He started putting his butt up in the air. I was just trying to do whatever I could to distract him, but he started getting aggressive and grabbed my hand again.”

Jeff claimed Travolta started masturbating toward the end of the massage and tried to reassure him, “ ‘It’s okay, you can do it. No one’s going to know.’ ”

The massage man said he bolted from the room the instant the hour-long session was over — and received a paltry $20 tip.

The Seattle accuser said Travolta cornered him in a two-story Westin suite as he mopped up the bar all alone.

“He came up right behind me and grabbed my a–.,” the former catering staffer, 48, said. “I turned around and saw that his penis was out of his pants.”

The incident ended when the worker spurned the advance. Travolta allegedly tossed 10 $100 bills on the counter, the accuser claimed.

Travolta’s lawyer rebuked the claims by both men, saying it was “evident” they are not “reliable sources.” And he insisted Travolta did not pay any hush money to get the federal cases dropped.

“Not one penny has been paid, nor do we have any intention to pay any money for these ridiculous and false claims,” Singer said.

The actor’s travails include accusations from a reported masseur who told the National Enquirer he had passionate sex with Travolta at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Laguna Niguel, Calif., in 1997.

A separate Enquirer report that claimed Travolta sexually accosted his “Grease” co-star Jeff Conaway in the 1990s was rejected by the late actor’s sister.
“It’s total crap,” Conaway’s sister Carla Shreve told The News.

ndillon@nydailynews.com

John Travolta’s second accuser withdraws $2M lawsuit – but hires new lawyer to pursue case  is a post from: New York Lawyers And Attorneys

Article source: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/john-travolta-accuser-withdraws-2m-lawsuit-hires-lawyer-pursue-case-article-1.1079848

The analysis by Bridge Associates LLC issued on Dec. 5,
2008, found that MBIA was “solvent and not impaired” under New
York insurance law and that its underwriting and surveillance
procedures were consistent with practices in the industry, said
Michael Steinberg, a lawyer for Sullivan Cromwell who
represents the banks.

Bridge Associate’s opinion, which cost MBIA $1.15 million,
was done in 2 1/2 weeks and was based only on information as of
Sept. 30, 2008, Steinberg said. The suing banks have said the
insurer concealed from regulators a $3.75 million study by
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. that showed the company’s MBIA
Insurance unit was insolvent and that a policyholders’ purported
surplus of $3.3 billion was actually negative.

“The department didn’t do a solvency review,” Steinberg
said in court today. “They didn’t have time.”

New York State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Kapnick is
overseeing a nonjury trial in Manhattan on the banks’ claims
that the Feb. 17, 2009, approval of MBIA’s proposal by then-
Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo was based on misleading
information and violated insurance law.

Misleading Information

More than a dozen financial institutions sued Armonk, New
York-based MBIA and the state insurance department in 2009 over
the restructuring. Bank of America Corp. and Societe Generale SA (GLE)
are the only banks left in the litigation after JPMorgan Chase
Co. (JPM), Morgan Stanley, UBS AG and others dropped out.

The banks claimed the restructuring harmed them as
policyholders by transferring $5 billion in assets out of the
MBIA unit that insured risky mortgage debt, exposing the banks
to potential losses. Bank of America and Societe Generale have
another lawsuit pending against MBIA while MBIA is suing Bank of
America over mortgage loans.

The insurance regulator approved the restructuring after
finding that all policyholders would be protected, while a well-
capitalized insurer would be established for the municipal bond
market, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office has said in
filings in the case. The state and MBIA argue the insurance
department’s approval is entitled to “deference.”

State Senate Probe

New York Republican state senators James Seward, chairman
of the senate’s insurance committee, and Carl Marcellino said in
a statement yesterday they were considering conducting an
inquiry and holding hearings on MBIA’s restructuring.

At the outset of today’s proceedings, lawyers representing
MBIA and the state insurance department urged Kapnick to ask
whether the banks, their attorneys or consultants had prior
knowledge of the statement or were involved in preparing it.

“We are entitled to these answers,” Marc Kasowitz, a
lawyer representing MBIA, said. “We think this is improper and
has potential consequences.”

Kapnick said it would be “of some concern” if the banks’
lawyers or lobbyists were involved, and asked Robert Giuffra, a
Sullivan Cromwell lawyer representing the banks, whether he
had a hand in the statement. Giuffra responded that he learned
about the press release from a reporter yesterday. The judge
ordered the proceedings to continue.

The trial is scheduled to resume tomorrow at 10 a.m. New
York time.

The case is ABN Amro Bank NV v. MBIA Inc., 601475-2009, New
York state Supreme Court, New York County (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story:
Chris Dolmetsch in New York at
cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net.

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New York Relied on MBIA-Hired Firm to Approve Revamp is a post from: New York Lawyers And Attorneys

Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-17/new-york-relied-on-mbia-hired-firm-for-approval-lawyer-says-1-.html

The analysis by Bridge Associates LLC issued on Dec. 5,
2008, found that MBIA was “solvent and not impaired” under New
York insurance law and that its underwriting and surveillance
procedures were consistent with practices in the industry, said
Michael Steinberg, a lawyer for Sullivan Cromwell who
represents the banks.

Bridge Associate’s opinion, which cost MBIA $1.15 million,
was done in 2 1/2 weeks and was based only on information as of
Sept. 30, 2008, Steinberg said. The suing banks have said the
insurer concealed from regulators a $3.75 million study by
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. that showed the company’s MBIA
Insurance unit was insolvent and that a policyholders’ purported
surplus of $3.3 billion was actually negative.

“The department didn’t do a solvency review,” Steinberg
said in court today. “They didn’t have time.”

New York State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Kapnick is
overseeing a nonjury trial in Manhattan on the banks’ claims
that the Feb. 17, 2009, approval of MBIA’s proposal by then-
Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo was based on misleading
information and violated insurance law.

Misleading Information

More than a dozen financial institutions sued Armonk, New
York-based MBIA and the state insurance department in 2009 over
the restructuring. Bank of America Corp. and Societe Generale SA (GLE)
are the only banks left in the litigation after JPMorgan Chase
Co. (JPM), Morgan Stanley, UBS AG and others dropped out.

The banks claimed the restructuring harmed them as
policyholders by transferring $5 billion in assets out of the
MBIA unit that insured risky mortgage debt, exposing the banks
to potential losses. Bank of America and Societe Generale have
another lawsuit pending against MBIA while MBIA is suing Bank of
America over mortgage loans.

The insurance regulator approved the restructuring after
finding that all policyholders would be protected, while a well-
capitalized insurer would be established for the municipal bond
market, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office has said in
filings in the case. The state and MBIA argue the insurance
department’s approval is entitled to “deference.”

State Senate Probe

New York Republican state senators James Seward, chairman
of the senate’s insurance committee, and Carl Marcellino said in
a statement yesterday they were considering conducting an
inquiry and holding hearings on MBIA’s restructuring.

At the outset of today’s proceedings, lawyers representing
MBIA and the state insurance department urged Kapnick to ask
whether the banks, their attorneys or consultants had prior
knowledge of the statement or were involved in preparing it.

“We are entitled to these answers,” Marc Kasowitz, a
lawyer representing MBIA, said. “We think this is improper and
has potential consequences.”

Kapnick said it would be “of some concern” if the banks’
lawyers or lobbyists were involved, and asked Robert Giuffra, a
Sullivan Cromwell lawyer representing the banks, whether he
had a hand in the statement. Giuffra responded that he learned
about the press release from a reporter yesterday. The judge
ordered the proceedings to continue.

The trial is scheduled to resume tomorrow at 10 a.m. New
York time.

The case is ABN Amro Bank NV v. MBIA Inc., 601475-2009, New
York state Supreme Court, New York County (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story:
Chris Dolmetsch in New York at
cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net.

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New York Relied on MBIA-Hired Firm for Approval, Lawyer Says is a post from: New York Lawyers And Attorneys

Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-17/new-york-relied-on-mbia-hired-firm-for-approval-lawyer-says-1-.html