Kucker & Bruh, LLP: Abner T. Zelman

Abner T. Zelman

Mr. Zelman is Of Counsel to the K&B firm, and a senior attorney who specializes in bankruptcy law, creditors' rights, and commercial and real estate litigation. Prior to joining the K&B firm, he was associated with Breed, Abbott & Morgan, and earlier with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. He has represented secured creditors and indenture trustees and served on creditors' committees in major chapter 11 reorganization cases, including those of Eastern Airlines and Federated Department Stores.

Mr. Zelman is admitted to practice in all trial and appellate courts in New York, and is admitted to the bar of the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. He regularly appears in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court (S.D.N.Y. and E.D.N.Y), where he represents clients of the firm with claims against debtor estates.

Reported cases in which Mr. Zelman has appeared: 4 Third Avenue Leasehold, LLC v. Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates, 133 Fed.Appx. 768, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 9494 (2nd Cir. 2005) [overturned federal district court's incorrect ruling which failed to enforce liquidated damages clause in commercial lease agreement; liquidated damages provision was not an unenforceable penalty and had not been waived]; In re 127 John Street Associates, 2005 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 6729; 54 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d (MB) (S.D.N.Y. Apr.18, 2005) [purchaser of property could not appeal from interim order requiring deposit of $6.2 million in escrow for benefit of former tenants who claimed share of real estate tax refund]; Unreported: In re 127 John Street Associates, 93-B-46171 (CB) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y., Nov.12, 2004) [K&B obtained interim order from bankruptcy court which, reversing its own prior orders predicated on fact representations by the purchaser of property which were challenged by K&B, reopened a chapter 11 case to permit former tenants to claim a share of the $6.2 million real estate tax refund which had been withheld by the purchaser of property, and purchaser also was ordered to provide notice to former tenants (court found first notice by purchaser was severely inadequate)]; Reported: Calka v. Chuu, 2003 U.S. Dist. Lexis 4090 (S.D.N.Y. 2003) [adversary proceeding brought by debtor tenant to recover funds paid to apartment owner should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, as it did not involve a core bankruptcy matter, and a recovery, if any, would not benefit debtor's bankruptcy estate]; Feinberg v. Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10463 (S.D.N.Y. 1989) [excluding future claimants under group health insurance policy, and certifying existing claimants as plaintiff class, in action brought against insurer pursuant to ERISA, alleging plan description of benefits was misleading]; Quick & Reilly v. Jacobson, 126 F.R.D. 24 (S.D.N.Y. 1989) [dismissing case brought by securities brokerage firm to overturn arbitration award in favor of investor, and imposing sanctions against opposing counsel pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 11]; The Bank of New York v. Mishal Bin Saud, 628 F.Supp. 474 (S.D.N.Y. 1986) [denying motion to stay action on personal guarantee of mortgage pending determination of state foreclosure action]; Brodsky v. Independent Cement Corporation, 99 B.R. 210 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1989) [holding that creditor's conduct in state court, obtaining order which directed nunc pro tunc re-docketing of judgment lien that had been untimely docketed by clerk, constituted a violation of the bankruptcy automatic stay, but declining to hold creditor in contempt]; In re Beker Industries Corp., 64 B.R. 900 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1986) [denying debtor's motion to sell for scrap value, or abandon, plant which secured issue of debentures, resulting in ultimate realization of significant value to debenture holders in ensuing reorganization]; and In re Air National Aircraft Sales and Service, Inc., 53 B.R. 310 (Bankr. E.D.N.Y. 1985) [holding that lessor was free to repossess aircraft because either the debtor's leasehold interest had terminated prior to the filing of the petition in bankruptcy, or the debtor had failed to meet statutory requirement of curing defaults within 60 days of filing]. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Articles published in the New York Law Journal in which Mr. Zelman contributed include: Obstacles Arise When Tenant is Foreign State (Sept. 30, 2002) (with Nativ Winiarsky).

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