Uniondale, NY – December 22, 2022 – RMF announced today that attorney Adam L. Browser achieved a landmark attorney fee award in his successful defense of a foreclosure action brought by Apex Bank. In a decision issued by the Honorable David P. Sullivan of the Supreme Court of New York, County of Nassau, Judge Sullivan awarded $54,867.50 in attorneys’ fees under Real Property Law section 282. This section of the Real Property Law allows homeowners who successfully defend against a foreclosure action to recover their attorneys’ fees. The law was passed in 2010. Justice Sullivan’s decision awarding $54,867.50 is the highest reported attorney fee award ever granted by a judge in New York under this statute. Justice Sullivan ruled that this fee award was “reasonable and appropriate given counsel’s level of expertise and accomplishments.”
The litigation started in 2018 when Apex Bank commenced a foreclose action on a house in Oceanside. The house was uninhabitable because of damage sustained by Hurricane Sandy and needed to be elevated. The homeowners retained Mr. Browser and Ruskin Moscou Faltischek to represent them. After their many attempts to resolve the matter were rebuffed, the parties moved for summary judgment in their favor. In September 2021, Mr. Browser secured a major victory when Justice Sullivan ruled in favor of the homeowners and dismissed the bank’s foreclosure action. Subsequently, the Court held an inquest on attorneys’ fees before issuing its decision and the historic fee award in favor of Ruskin Moscou Faltischek and its clients.
For over 50 years, Ruskin Moscou Faltischek P.C., headquartered in Uniondale, has built a reputation as one of the region’s leading providers of innovative legal services. Its attorneys are practical, experienced advocates who measure their success by their clients’ success. Cornerstone groups in all major practice areas of the law are represented at the law firm, including trusts and estates, corporate and securities, corporate restructuring & bankruptcy, commercial lending, commercial litigation, intellectual property health care, real estate, employment, not-for-profit, cybersecurity and data privacy, and energy. Clients include large and mid-sized corporations, privately held businesses, institutions and individuals.
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