Hon. Marcy Friedman (Ret.) joins JAMS after having served as a judge in the New York State courts for nearly 30 years. Since 2000, she has presided in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County. She was appointed to that court's Center for Complex Litigation, where she heard mass torts cases involving asbestos and pharmaceuticals. In addition, she presided over a wide range of civil cases, including personal injury, medical malpractice, labor, insurance, commercial and residential landlord-tenant and other real property cases, and CPLR Article 78 proceedings challenging governmental acts.  

In 2012, Justice Friedman was appointed to the Commercial Division and was designated to hear all residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) cases filed after 2013. In this assignment, she heard dozens of RMBS fraud, breach of contract and investor actions against securitizers and mortgage originators, as well as cases seeking judicial approval of settlements of these actions and judicial instructions as to the distribution of settlement payments to various classes of investors. She also oversaw a wide range of other commercial cases involving, among other things, complex financial instruments; mergers and acquisitions; commercial and residential real property matters; insurance coverage; employment, including claims of wrongful termination and violation of noncompete agreements; and partnership dissolutions and other business divorces.

Having heard thousands of cases during the course of her judicial career, Justice Friedman has extensive experience conducting settlement conferences as well as presiding over both bench and jury trials. She is widely respected for her meticulous attention to detail and tenacious, evenhanded pursuit of justice. Her numerous published decisions on a wide variety of legal issues illustrate her scholarship and the depth and range of her experience.

ADR Experience and Qualifications

Justice Friedman presided over thousands of cases involving a wide variety of areas, including the following:

• Banking
• Business/Commercial
• Employment
• Entertainment
• Financial Market
• Government/Public Agency
• Insurance
• Real Property
• Securities

Representative Matters

• Additional Selected Case Examples

Matter of Jackson v. Horn, 27 Misc 3d 463 (Jan. 11, 2010): Presided over Article 78 proceeding challenging the NYC Department of Corrections’ solitary confinement practices with respect to “close custody” prisoners; issued decision granting a declaratory judgment that the department violated governing minimum standards by confining such prisoners in their cells for up to 23 hours per day

Lapine v. Seinfeld, 31 Misc 3d 736 (Feb. 23, 2011): Presided over action by the plaintiff cookbook author against the defendant comedian and the defendant publisher of a cookbook authored by the comedian’s wife; issued decision that granted a motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s claims against the comedian for defamation and against the publisher for misappropriation of ideas

In re: New York Asbestos Litigation, John Matteson, John Lustenring, Index Nos. 105240/2001, 105155/2001, 2003 WL 27172191 (Apr. 4, 2003), 2003 WL 25338468 (judgment), 2003 WL 25338467 (judgment), affd 13 AD3d 69 (2004), lv denied 4 NY3d 708 (2005): Presided over trial of two damage actions for personal injury brought by workers alleging occupational exposure to asbestos; issued decision principally denying motions to set aside the jury liability verdicts

Weigl v. Quincy Specialties Co., Index No. 18321/1992, 190 Misc 2d 1 (Oct. 23, 2001), 2002 WL 34077225 (judgment); judgment affd 1 AD3d 132 (2003): Presided over personal injury products liability action involving claims of defective design, negligent testing, failure to warn and breach of warranty regarding medical apparel; issued decision after jury trial, assessing whether the jury’s award for pain and suffering deviated materially from what would be reasonable compensation pursuant to CPLR 5501

• Banking

Lehman Brothers Int’l (Europe) v. AG Fin. Prod’s, Inc., Index No. 653284/2011, 2018 NY Slip Op 51100 (U), 2018 WL 3432593 (July 2, 2018) affd 168 AD3d 527 (2019): Presided over action involving a terminated credit default swap transaction governed by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) Master Agreement; issued decision that contributed to limited authority in the U.S. on the methodology for calculation of loss under the ISDA Master Agreement and addressed the permissibility of consideration of industry custom and practice in construing specialized terms used by contracting parties in a highly technical industry or business

UBS v. Highland Capital Corp., Index No 650097/2009: Presided over action involving a failed restructured securitization of collateralized loan obligations and credit default swaps; issued decisions of multiple summary judgment motions and presided over a jury trial that resulted in a judgment of over $500 million

Basis Yield Alpha Fund (Master) v. Morgan Stanley, Index No. 654424/2012, 2015 WL 1744818 (April 16, 2015): Presided over action brought by an investor against the securitizer of a collateralized debt obligation; issued decision of motion to dismiss that addressed the sufficiency of disclosures in the offering materials and the standards for pleading of a fraud claim in this context

People v. Bank of New York Mellon Corp., Index No. 114735/2009, 2013 NY Slip Op 31813 (U) (Aug. 5, 2013): Denied a motion to dismiss claims brought by the New York State Attorney General under the Martin Act, New York's "blue sky" law, for alleged fraud by the defendant bank in connection with the rates charged to New York City pension funds for foreign currency exchange transactions

• Business Commercial

Melody Business Fin., LLC v. Falcone, Index No 651155/2020: Presided over action on a promissory note and guarantees; issued decision on a motion for an order of seizure of collateral

TD Ameritrade, Inc. v. Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, Inc., Index No 650733/2020, 2020 NY Slip Op 34120 (U), 2020 WL 7315581 (Dec. 9, 2020): Presided over proceeding to stay a third-party claim filed against the petitioner in a FINRA arbitration; determined the arbitrability of the claim under FINRA rules, the parties having agreed that the issue was for the court to decide

Weisen v. Verizon Communications Inc., Index No. 654956/2016, 2018 NY Slip Op 32464 (U), 2018 WL 4698019, affd 183 AD3d 485 (2020): Presided over action in which the plaintiff sued the defendant for interference with a contract between the plaintiff and a client under which the plaintiff was to receive compensation for introducing the client to contacts necessary for the client to proceed with a submarine cable construction project; issued decision of dispositive motion to dismiss

• Business Dissolutions

Weksler v. Weksler, Index No. 652843/2011, 603288/2007: Presided over extensively litigated dispute among family members involving the dissolution of a close corporation; facilitated resolution of the actions after several settlement conferences

Ouazzo v. Ouazzo, Index No. 652282/2010, 2020 NY Slip Op 32342 (U), 2020 WL 4196041: Presided over extensively litigated dispute among family members involving the dissolution of several close corporations; issued decision surveying authorities on the right to a jury trial on the plaintiff’s claims for damages for breach of fiduciary duty

Jazz Realty II, LLC v. Hutson, Index No. 650289/2019: Presided over extensively litigated dispute as to ownership interests in an entity formed to develop and sell affordable housing projects; facilitated resolution of the action after several settlement conferences

• Mergers and Acquisitions

Blue Sage Capital, L.P. v. Alfa Laval U.S. Holding Inc., Index No. 650413/2014, 2018 WL 8732218 (Apr. 3, 2018), rearg denied 2018 WL 3928386, affd 168 AD3d 645 (2019), lv denied 33 NY3d 904: Presided over action in which both buyer and seller of a business sought damages—the seller for earnout payments and the buyer for breaches of representations and warranties about the business; issued decision denying both parties' summary judgment motions; held a two-week jury trial; and ruled post-trial on attorneys’ fees and pre-judgment interest

Garda USA, Inc. v. Sun Capital Partners, Inc., Index No. 657031/2019, 2020 NY Slip Op 33730 (U), 2020 WL 6564731 (Nov. 9, 2020): Presided over action for damages resulting from the plaintiff’s failed attempt to acquire one of the defendant entities; issued decision of motion to dismiss considering whether, and to what extent, the parties to the transaction had an obligation to negotiate in good faith

• Real Property

Bistro Shop, LLC v. N.Y. Park N. Salem, Inc., Index No. 110907/2009, 2018 WL 11222546 (Mar. 20, 2018), affd 175 AD3d 1181 (2019): Presided over lease dispute between a commercial landlord and restaurant tenant; held six-day bench trial and issued decision determining the tenant's claim for rescission of the lease based on the landlord's failure to timely complete construction work contemplated by the lease and to turn the premises over to the tenant

Develop Don't Destroy (Brooklyn), Inc. v. Empire State Development Corp., 33 Misc 3d 330 (July 13, 2011)), affd 94 AD3d 508 (2012), lv denied 19 NY3d 806: Presided over Article 78 proceedings involving the development of the Atlantic Yards Arena and Redevelopment Project, a major urban renewal project involving construction plans for a sports arena, mass transit subway project and commercial and residential high-rise buildings; issued decisions determining challenges to the development under the State Environmental Quality Review Act

Hiralion Real Estate, Inc. v. 225 5th, LLC, Index No. 114680/2008, 2010 NY Slip Op 50622 (U), 2010 WL 1444531 (Mar. 23, 2010): Presided over declaratory judgment action for rescission of a contract to purchase a condominium apartment; issued decision denying summary judgment motion

Tapia v. Successful Mgt. Corp., Index No. 400563/2008, 2009 NY Slip Op 51552 (U), 2009 WL 2163595 (July 20, 2009), affd 79 AD3d 422 (2010): Presided over declaratory judgment action involving claim that the anti-discrimination clauses of the J-51 law and Local Law 10 prohibited the defendant-landlords from refusing to accept Section 8 benefits from the plaintiffs, who were tenants in the defendants' buildings prior to their receipt of Section 8 vouchers; issued decision determining dispositive summary judgment motions

144 Woodruff Corp. v. LaCrete, 154 Misc 2d 301 (Housing Court 1992): Presided over Housing Court proceeding; issued decision holding that a stipulation of settlement signed by an unrepresented party should be vacated where the party's lack of representation resulted in an unduly one-sided agreement—in the instant case, an agreement to pay rent substantially in excess of the legal regulated rent

• Securities

Justice Friedman presided over an extensive RBMS docket, including the following:

Matter of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. for Judicial Instructions Under CPLR Article 77 on the Administration and Distribution of a Settlement Payment, Index No. 657387/2017, 2020 NY Slip Op 30453 (U), 2020 WL 735683 (Feb. 13, 2020): Presided over proceeding in which RMBS trustees sought judicial instructions as to how to distribute a $4.5 billion settlement payment made to the trustees on the investors' behalf; the decision specified the methodology for distributing the payment to the various classes (tranches) of investors

Federal Housing Fin. Agency v. Morgan Stanley ABS Capital I Inc., Index No. 650291/2013, 59 Misc 3d 754 (Mar. 6, 2018): Presided over coordinated RMBS breach of contract action; issued bellwether decision determining the accrual rule that applies, for statute of limitations purposes, to claims against securitizers alleging the securitizers' failure to comply with their contractual obligations to give notice to other deal parties of their discovery of breaches of representations and warranties regarding the quality and characteristics of the mortgage loans

Ace Secs. Corp. v. DB Structured Prods., Inc., Index No. 651854/2014, 52 Misc 3d 343 (Mar. 29, 2016), affd US Bank Nat’l Ass’n v. UBS Real Estate Sec’s Inc.,177 AD3d 493 (2019): Presided over coordinated RMBS breach of contract action; issued decision that determined that an RMBS trustee is not a plaintiff for purposes of the CPLR 205 (a) statute of limitations savings provision, where the action was initially brought by parties (there, certificate holders) without standing

Ambac Assurance Corp. v. Countrywide Home Loans. Inc., Index No. 653979/2014, 2016 NY Slip Op 51864 (U), 2016 WL 8254810 (Dec. 19, 2016): Presided over coordinated RMBS action brought by a monoline insurer against the originator and underwriter of RMBS securitizations, in which the insurer alleged that the defendants fraudulently induced it to issue policies insuring the transactions; issued decision addressing the standards for pleading justifiable reliance and due diligence in this context

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

• New York State Bar Association (NYSBA)
• Appointed Member at Large, Commercial & Federal Litigation Section, March 2022 - May 2023
• New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA)
  • Former Member, Board of Directors
  • Member, Justice Center
• New York City Bar Association CLE Activities
  • Panelist at CLE programs at bar associations and judicial seminars
• Pro Bono Activities
  • Committed to improving access to justice, Justice Friedman chaired a task force on Housing Court, under the auspices of the NYCLA Justice Center
  • Authored best practices, adopted by the American Bar Association, for judges presiding over Housing Court cases in which the tenant or landlord is unrepresented
  • Working with the NYCLA Justice Center and other groups, Justice Friedman organized a conference of distinguished prosecutors, defense lawyers, judges and scholars to address the racial impacts of criminal prosecutions, from arraignments through sentencing

Background and Education

• Appointed Justice, Commercial Division, Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, 2012–2021
• Appointed Justice, Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, 2000–2012
• Judge, Civil Court, City of New York, Elected 1993
• Judge, Housing Court, City of New York, 1991–1993
• Managing Attorney, Hell’s Kitchen Office, MFY Legal Services, 1985–1991
• Staff Attorney, Civil Division, The Legal Aid Society, 1978–1985
• Associate, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, 1977–1978
• J.D., cum laude, University of Pennsylvania School of Law, 1977
• St. Anne’s College, Oxford University, 1973–1974
• B.A., magna cum laude, Smith College, 1972