Jeremy Wallison’s practice focuses on trial court, appellate and arbitral litigation of complex, make-or-break business disputes. For his work in this area, Mr. Wallison, every year since 2014, has been named to the New York Super Lawyers list, a Thomson Reuters publication honoring the top 5% of lawyers in New York in particular practice areas based on a variety of factors, including peer review and professional achievement. At both Wallison & Wallison and, prior to that, as a business litigation partner at Foley & Lardner LLP, Mr. Wallison has achieved remarkable results for clients across diverse industries and areas of law. Notable victories include:
- Co-led FINRA arbitration team that won $52,125,000 defamation damage award on behalf of hedge fund executive against his former firm, among the highest awards to an individual at FINRA ever and the highest defamation awards ever to an individual in any forum. Award can be found here;
- Obtained $43 million judgment, the full amount owed, plus attorney’s fees, in the first bondholder suit brought against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela following the 2018 default on its sovereign debt. Casa Express Corp. as Tr. of Casa Express Tr. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, No. 18 CIV. 11940 (AT), 2020 WL 5817282 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2020);
- Obtained rare vacatur and remand from Second Circuit Court of Appeals on appeal of summary judgment dismissal of tortious interference claim brought by Paris art dealer against prominent New York art gallery. S.A.R.L. Galerie Enrico Navarra v. Marlborough Gallery Inc., 751 Fed. Appx. 39 (2d Cir. 2018);
- In a first-of-its-kind case in New York, convinced both trial court and appellate court that a $250 million consensual foreclosure transaction between hedge fund borrowers and their secured lender could be unwound on the basis of the lender’s “bad faith” exploitation of bargaining leverage; case settled for a substantial payment to client (a liquidating entity acting for the benefit of creditors of the hedge funds) soon after the appellate court affirmed the viability of the claim. Stillwater Liquidating LLC v. Partner Reins. Co., Ltd., 2017 WL 318658 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Jan. 23, 2017), aff’d 59 N.Y.S.3d 8 (1st Dep’t 2017);
- Won full dismissal of finders’ fee litigation involving Italian luxury goods client. ELJM Consulting, LLC v. Santoni S.p.A., Index No. 652431-17, 2018 NY Slip Op 31736(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct. March 26, 2018);
- Using fraudulent conveyance and veil-piercing claims, in actions in both state and federal court, collected $3.9 million of a $4 million judgment originally obtained against an empty shell corporation (unreported disposition);
- Won dismissal with prejudice of complex fraud and breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit asserted in connection with an acrimonious business divorce. Marcum, LLP v. Rosenfarb, Index No. 27407-13, 2014 NY Slip Op 31216(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct. April 3, 2014);
- Helped lead litigation team in complex dispute over breach of indenture and fraudulent conveyance claims arising out of a restructuring involving billons of dollars in publicly traded debt, ultimately securing favorable settlement for bondholders. Travelport Limited, et al. v. Computershare Trust Company, N.A., Southern District of New York, Case No. 11 Civ. 7704 (PKC);
- Obtained judgment against defaulted borrower for full amount of outstanding debt, then obtained dismissal of borrower’s countersuit for fraud and breach of contract, then won judgment against borrower for the full amount of legal fees incurred in defending the countersuit, then successfully defended dismissal and legal fees award on appeal. Edelman v. Emigrant Bank Fine Art Finance, LLC, 933 N.Y.S.2d 270 (1st Dep’t 2011);
- Won arbitration of complex lease dispute regarding novel question of how to account for lease termination payments, under GAAP, in calculating a percentage rent obligation (unreported disposition);
- Obtained appellate court reversal in breach of contract claim by establishing that oral acceptance of a competitive bid can give rise to contractual liability even when the parties contemplate subsequent negotiation and preparation of a formal purchase and sale agreement. Emigrant Bank v. UBS Real Estate Securities, Inc., 854 N.Y.S.2d 39 (1st Dep’t 2008);
- Won summary judgment dismissal of products liability claim and successfully defended dismissal on appeal. Granata v. Sub-Zero Freezer Co., Inc., No 10655/03, 2006 WL 1358468 (Sup. Ct. March 27, 2006), aff’d 841 N.Y.S.2d 469 (2d Dep’t 2007); and
- Won dismissal of securities fraud class action complaint on what the court termed a “novel theory” – that inference of fraudulent intent was not valid where the fraudulent scheme alleged was unlikely to succeed. In re Geopharma, Inc. Sec. Litig., 399 F.Supp.2d 432 (S.D.N.Y. 2005) (dismissing securities fraud complaint with leave to replead); In re Geopharma, Inc. Sec. Litig., 411 F.Supp.2d 434 (S.D.N.Y. 2006) (dismissing securities fraud complaint with prejudice after leave to replead).
Mr. Wallison also writes and lectures frequently on emerging issues in business law. Recent publications and presentations include:
- “Getting redress for victims – prosecutors, liquidators and civil fraud lawyers,” co-presented at Asset Recovery Americas 2018, an event organized by KNect365, September 2018
- “Cross-border discovery in International Disputes,” presented at the 10th Winter Seminar of Union Internationale des Avocats, February 26, 2015;
- “Valuing Contingent or Disputed Assets And Liabilities in Solvency Opinions,” The Review of Banking & Financial Services, Vol. 30, No. 5 (May 2014);
- “Valuation of Contingent and Disputed Liabilities and Assets in Solvency Determinations,” co-presented at Valcon 2013, February 20, 2013; and
- “Traps for the Unwary in LOIs, NDAs and Other Preliminary Agreements — A Litigator’s Perspective,” co-presented at the New York Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel, February 23, 2012.
Mr. Wallison received his A.B., cum laude, from Harvard University, where he was awarded the Harvard College Scholarship, and his J.D. from the New York University School of Law, where he was a Leslie and Edmund Glass Fellow.