Our Work

Represented EchoStar in a number of appeals. In April 2010, the Firm represented EchoStar in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in an indemnification dispute with Bank One over a co-financing arrangement for consumer purchases of satellite disks. In October 2010, the Firm represented EchoStar in two appeals in the First Department, Appellate Division arising out of a contractual dispute over EchoStar’s access to high definition television programming on the ESPN, ABC Family, and Toon Disney cable television networks.

Successfully settled breach of contract action on behalf of Patty Duke after prevailing on theater producer’s motion for summary judgment.

Obtained a favorable settlement on behalf of an orthodontist who alleged that his former partners wrongfully expelled him from his dental practice in violation of their partnership agreement.

Represented the majority directors of a fourth-generation manufacturing company in a partnership dispute with a minority director. The case resulted in an amicable settlement.

The Firm represented a group of property owners resisting government’s attempt to confiscate their homes and businesses for transfer to a private real estate developer in violation of the Constitution of the United States and the State of New York.

The Firm represented the Friends of the Highline, New York’s City Counsel and a group of developers, architects, government officials, and Chelsea and Greenwich Village residents in their effort to turn an unused elevated rail line on the lower West Side of Manhattan into a public promenade. Our representation of Friends of the High Line required aggressive litigation in state trial and appellate courts and careful coordination with political and public relations strategies to receive the desired result.

ECBAWM represents Galerie Enrico Navarra in its dispute with Marlborough Gallery, Inc. regarding allegations that Marlborough attempted to interfere with Navarra’s production agreement with artist Chu Teh-Chun by prevailing on Chu to publicly disavow the authenticity of his art.

The firm represents a person sued for allegedly selling an inauthentic drawing by George Seurat.

The firm represented a plaintiff in a case against Sotheby’s seeking to stop the sale of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s masterpiece “Flesh and Spirit.”

ECBAWM obtained a settlement for Donald Sultan, an internationally renowned artist, after alleging that defendant Park Plaza Worldwide LLC fraudulently induced him into an agreement to contribute his artistic expertise and reputation to the development of a luxury hotel in Budapest, Hungary, and then failed to pay him in full for his services.

ECBAWM won an appeal in favor of photojournalist Arthur Grace, after defendant Sygna Photo News informed him that tens of thousands of his photographs were missing. Mr. Grace had a licensing agreement with Sygma for over three decades before he brought a federal action to recover damages for the missing images.

The Firm joined as co-counsel in one of the largest and most important antitrust litigations in U.S. history. Plaintiffs consisted of over 5 million U.S. merchants who alleged tying and monopolization claims against Visa and MasterCard. The Firm was retained to prepare the case for trial, playing the role of defense counsel in a one-week mock trial conducted before 40 “jurors” and assisting in witness preparation and jury selection for trial. The case settled on the eve of trial for $3 billion – the largest antitrust settlement in U.S. history.

The Firm represented a Canadian manufacturing business in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in an unfair competition and product-labeling dispute.

In a case involving the loss of over 40,000 photographic images, the Firm represented a renowned photojournalist in a landmark appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that established a new standard for the valuation of lost images.

The Firm successfully represented Kobi Katz in a copyright suit involving the unlawful copying of its “Bridge of Life” ring.

The Firm represented an Egyptian student who was falsely accused of involvement in the September 11 attacks in an historic case that further defined the scope of the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in bail proceedings.

The Firm successfully represented an association of taxicab owners who challenged the City’s requirement that they purchase hybrid vehicles. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the City’s rules were preempted by federal environmental protection standards.

The Firm successfully represented an association of taxicab owners challenging a Taxi & Limousine Commission rule that prohibited the owners from collecting sales tax in addition to the standard lease cap. The Court of Appeals for the State of New York held that the Commission’s rules were arbitrary and capricious.

The Firm successfully obtained and defended on appeal a complete dismissal of all claims brought by renowned journalist Carl Bernstein in a meritless tort-suit.

The Firm represented a Connecticut-based manufacturing company in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in a Fifth Amendment Taking Clause challenge to a federal assessment scheme.

The Firm represented the plaintiff in a matter involving claims for lost property that raised fundamental constitutional questions concerning the right to a jury trial. The case was heard twice in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and once in the U.S. Supreme Court before reaching a final resolution in our client’s favor. It is now taught in law schools and featured in textbooks across the country.

Prior to founding the firm, Richard Emery successfully argued a landmark case in which the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously invalidated the New York City Board of Estimate on “one person, one vote” grounds, radically altering the balance of power in New York City government.

The Firm represented Housing Works, a non-profit housing organization serving people with AIDS, in a case that successfully challenged the City’s termination of Housing Works’s funding in retaliation for the organization’s criticism of former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the grant of a preliminary injunction, securing the recovery of over $3 million in funding. The Firm ultimately obtained a historic $4.8 million settlement on behalf of Housing Works.

Together with several other firms, the Firm represents thousands of pharmaceutical sales representatives in class actions against several major pharmaceutical companies for failing to pay overtime. The Firm recently won one of these cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

The Firm obtained a $9 million judgment on behalf of a trust created by the late Dr. Robert Atkins, creator of the Atkins Diet, against his widow.

The Firm represents four individuals and a putative class of individuals who claim their communications were illegally intercepted by the federal government. A unanimous panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court, holding that the statutory and constitutional claims may proceed.