Kucker & Bruh, LLP: William D. Hummell

William D. Hummell

Mr. Hummell is a partner in the K&B firm, and a senior attorney whose practice areas include commercial transactions and disputes, civil litigation, including: complex civil actions, multi-jurisdiction litigations in various federal district courts and state courts, international disputes, Qui Tam civil actions (prosecuted under the federal False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §3729, et seq.), federal class actions (ERISA, 29 U.S.C. §1001, et seq.), state class actions, and administrative law. However, he has a vast knowledge of the substantive law in a broad range of practice areas, including, employment law, and employee benefits law (pension claims and welfare benefit claims), formulation and enforcement of business agreements, intrastate, interstate and international trade, agreements among corporate shareholders, partnership agreements, operating agreements for limited liability companies and limited liability partnerships, real property law (including enforcement of substantial commercial leases), construction law, zoning law and land use, and administrative law, including administrative proceedings regarding Fire Department so-called "Letters of Defect", Violation Orders, remediation and Letters of Approval, Building Department administrative proceedings, Manhattan Community Board hearings. His substantial litigation experience in federal and state courts includes, employee disputes concerning work circumstances, employment discrimination claims (including alleged age or sex discrimination), EEO claims (including alleged harassment or hostile environment), civil rights claims under federal or state law, employment disability claims, pension and welfare benefit disputes, the respective rights of employees and employers under ERISA and the federal Portability Act, dissolution of corporations and windup of partnerships, communications law and consumer rights. He also represents estate administrators in the Supreme Court or Surrogate's Court.

From 1980 to 1982, Mr. Hummell assisted D. Dale Haralson, a former Vice President of the Assoc. of Trial Lawyers of America, in pretrial discovery and motion practice in the federal lawsuits he and Stewart L. Udall, former Secretary of the U.S. Interior Department (1961-1969) prosecuted for thousands of civilians exposed to radioactive fallout in their homes during above-ground testing of atomic bombs in southern Nevada by the Atomic Energy Commission during the 1950's and 1960's. These actions pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act led to decisions in Prescott v. United States, 523 F.Supp. 918 (D.Nev. 1981); Allen v. United States, 588 F. Supp. 247 (D.C. Utah 1984), rev'd and remanded, 816 F.2d 1417 (10th Cir. 1987). In 1990, Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act which provided benefits to these victims of government induced radioactive fallout. From 1983 to 1988, Mr. Hummell was associated with Poles, Tublin, Patestides and Stratakis, a firm with offices in New York and Greece which specialized in international law, maritime law (including issues concerning time and voyage charter parties, vessel hire, demurrage, dispatch, bills of lading and cargo damage claims under the COGSA statute and the Montreal Protocols), federal litigation, and arbitrations. In 1988, he joined Snow Becker Krauss P.C., where he became a shareholder. In 1996, he joined SBK's board of directors and management committee, and in 2000, became vice chairman of the litigation department. In January 2003, Mr. Hummell was invited to join K&B. Based on a longstanding friendship with the K&B founding partners, respect for the talents and abilities of its attorneys, and an appreciation for the vibrancy of the firm, he relocated to K&B.

Mr. Hummell is admitted in the state of New York, and is a member of the bar of many federal courts, including: Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Courts of Appeals (Second Circuit, Third Circuit and Ninth Circuit), U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and U.S. District Court for Arizona. He has been a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He has appeared pro hac vice in the U.S. District Courts for New Jersey and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and in state courts in Florida and California. He has appeared in the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts in New York and Arizona, and pro hac vice in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Tennessee. He has been legal counsel to attorneys representing clients in legal proceedings in England, France, Belgium, Germany, Russia, Italy, Spain, Greece, Egypt, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, South Africa, Hong Kong and Singapore. He also represents clients in non-binding mediations, and prosecutes and defends arbitration claims before the American Arbitration Association, SMA, NASD and CFTC. He has co-authored several papers concerning the powers of commercial arbitrators, including an article presented at the Eighth International Congress of Arbitrators in Madrid, Spain in Oct. 1987. He is a member of the American Bar Assoc. and NY State Bar Assoc. (Federal and Commercial Litigation, and Labor and Employment Law Sections - Employee Benefits Committee).

Reported cases in which Mr. Hummell has appeared include: Beljakovic v Melohn Properties, Inc., 1:04-cv-02694-RJH-GWG (S.D.N.Y. May 12, 2009) (Holwell, J.) (court granted K&B’s renewed motion to compel arbitration and amended its earlier decision, on September 26, 2006, to hold that K&B’s client is entitled to an Order which compels the plaintiff-employee to arbitrate all of the discrimination claims alleged in his federal court complaint); Beljakovic v Melohn Properties, Inc., 1:04-cv-02694-RJH-GWG (S.D.N.Y. April 17, 2008) (Holwell, J.) (important interim result; K&B succeeded on its motion for an order pursuant to 9 U.S.C. §3 which stays the action until after the U.S. Supreme Court decides a similar case); Beljakovic v Melohn Properties, Inc., 06-cv-4760 (2nd Cir. August 21, 2007) (court in error disregarded 9 U.S.C. §16(a)(1)(A) and (B), and 28 U.S.C. §1292(a)(1), by dismissing the defendant-employer’s appeal for purported lack of appellate jurisdiction in the absence of a final order); Beljakovic v Melohn Properties, Inc., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70480 (S.D.N.Y. September 26, 2006) (Holwell, J.) (court relied on Rogers v. New York University, 220 F.3d 73 (2d Cir. 2000), to deny K&B’s motion pursuant to Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. §1, et seq.), specifically 9 U.S.C. §§ 3 and 4, and Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, as amended (29 U.S.C. §141, et seq.), on behalf of a company that employs doormen, porters and a superintendent in a residential apartment building, for an Order which compels the plaintiff-employee to arbitrate his age discrimination claims alleged under the ADEA statute in his federal court complaint – however, K&B subsequently succeeded in obtaining a favorable amendment of this decision); Water Street Leasehold LLC v. Deloitte & Touche, LLP, 2004 NY Slip Op 51260U; 5 Misc. 3d 1008A; 798 N.Y.S.2d 714; 2004 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1896 (Sup.Ct., N.Y. Co., Apr.19, 2004) [trial court upheld complaint which accused defendant accountants of third party liability for fraud and negligence in having certified as accurate the financial statements of insurance company which became insolvent and failed to pay a $1.1 million debt under a real estate lease], rev'd on other grounds, 796 N.Y.S.2d 598 (1st Dep't June 14, 2005); Fed. Ins. Co. v. Yusen Air & Sea Servs. PTE, Ltd., 97 Civ. 3830 (HB), 2001 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 9874 (S.D.N.Y., May 9, 2001) (Katz, J.) [relationship of attorneys and clients]; Stewart v. NYNEX Corporation and Bell Atlantic Corporation, 78 F.Supp.2d 172 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) [employment law, Portability Act and ERISA; nationwide class action in which 100% of lost pension entitlements and benefits were recaptured]; Glatter v. Borten, 233 A.D.2d 166, 649 N.Y.S.2d 677 (1st Dep't 1996) [disputed ownership of estate assets - this decision is a leading NY case concerning the "Best Evidence Rule" and the "Deadman's Statute"]; Soanes v. Empire Blue Cross/ Blue Shield, 970 F.Supp. 230 (S.D.N.Y. 1997) (Sprizzo, J.) [defended labor union against fraud claims by major medical insurer]; Soanes, 91 Civ. 8698, 1992 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 22079 (S.D.N.Y. 1992); In the Matter of the Dissolution of TDA Industries, Inc., 240 A.D.2d 262, 659 N.Y.S.2d 12 (1st Dept. 1997) [requested dissolution of closely held NY corporation]; Gelles v. TDA Industries, Inc., 44 F.3d 102 (2nd Cir. 1994); 1993 U.S. Dist.LEXIS 9779 (S.D.N.Y. July 16, 1993); 1991 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 3135 (Mukasey, J.) (S.D.N.Y. Mar.18, 1991) [federal securities law claims based on privatization of public company]; Fabrica de Tejidos La Bellota S.A. v. M/V "MAR" and Achille Lauro Lines S.R.L., 799 F.Supp. 546 (D. Virgin Islands 1992) [multi-jurisdictional defense of $10 million in cargo claims after a vessel sinking, with civil actions venued in federal courts in NY and the U.S. Virgin Islands, in state court in Florida, and related actions in Peru, Chile, Spain and Italy]; McCamphill v. NYNEX Corporation, 92 Civ. 0862 (Freeh, J.), 1993 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 4831 (S.D.N.Y., Apr.12, 1993) [Portability Act and ERISA; nationwide lawsuit in which $50 million in damages recovered from 8 major corporations, and 100% of lost pension entitlements and benefits recaptured]; Mazzone v. Stamler, 157 F.R.D. 212 (S.D.N.Y. 1994) [federal securities law claims related to complex real estate transaction; Golden Distributors, Ltd. v. Auburn Merchandising Dist, Inc., 134 B.R. 750 (S.D.N.Y. 1991) [alleged misappropriation of confidential customer lists; and alleged violation of duty of loyalty owed by employees]; Webster v. M/V "ASCANIUS", No. 85 Civ. 2423 (Keenan, J.), 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135 (S.D.N.Y. Jan.7, 1987) [jurisdictional dispute on COGSA claims]; In the Matter of the Arbitration between Alpine Bulk Transport Corp. and The Embassy of the Somali Democratic Republic, A.M.C. No. 2377 (1987) [Somali government liable for its commercial activities]; Trade & Transport v. Natural Petroleum Charterers Inc., No. 81 Civ. 7649 (Pollack, J.), 1985 U.S. Dist.LEXIS 15664 (S.D.N.Y., Sept. 24, 1985) [following issuance of partial final arbitration award, one arbitrator on panel of three arbitrators died; the functus officio doctrine, enforceable by Federal Arbitration Act, precludes recommence-ment of entire arbitration; instead, replacement arbitrator must be appointed to the panel, which proceeds to hear and determine only the unresolved issues]. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Significant unreported decisions include: In the Matter of the Application of Stewart Austin, et al. v. Goldman Sachs and Co., Index No. 106363/04 (Sup. Ct., N.Y. Co., Nov.15, 2004) [order granting citation to conduct depositions in New York in aid of New Jersey action]; 320 West 13th Realty LLC v. Avanade Inc., 03 CV 1579 (JSR) (S.D.N.Y., Apr.11, 2003) [court granted remand pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1447(c) because complete diversity among the parties was lacking and remand to state court would avoid duplicative litigation]; In the Matter of the Application of Lipper Holdings, LLC, Index No. 603653/2002 (Sup. Ct., N.Y. Co., Apr.9, 2003) [interim order in which state court approved the use of a methodology for distributing plan assets which historically revalued each investor's capital account month by month]; Wehnes v. TeleSector Resources Group, Inc., 91 Civ. 0039 (S.D.N.Y. Feb.4, 1992) [decision of first impression under Portability Act and ERISA in which employees recovered substantial lost pension entitlements and welfare benefits].

Charitable/Civic Associations: From May 2006 to the current date, Mr. Hummell as a volunteer has been a member of the National Board of Directors for the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), a not-for-profit corporation which administers premier soccer programs throughout the United States in which 600,000 children and 220,000 adults participate. Previously, Mr. Hummell was Section 3 Director (New York/New England), an Area Director, and a Regional Commissioner. He has been a delegate to the United States Soccer Federation. In June 2007, Mr. Hummell became Chairman of the AYSO Legal Commission.

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