White Collar Litigation Attorney Barry Slotnick Quoted on Representation of Queens Contractor Against One Madison Park

Barry I. Slotnick, chairman of the New York Litigation Group at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, was quoted in a June 11, 2010, article published by The Real Deal. The article, titled "Creditors aim to force One Madison Park into bankruptcy over $12M in unpaid loans," reported on a dispute between the developers of One Madison Park in New York and three creditors, including Kraus High Tech Home Automation, represented by Slotnick.

As noted in the article, "Kraus High Tech Home Automation, based in Long Island City, Queens, filed a petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware that would force building sponsor Slazer Enterprises Owner LLC, into Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Under Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the court liquidates assets rather reorganizes them as is done under Chapter 11." Kraus and the other two creditors are citing $11.6 million in unpaid loans and mechanic's liens.

"We're owed money by debtors," Slotnick told The Real Deal. "We figured before it all goes south we might as well go to a court that will protect our interests as creditor."

The article goes on to report that "Legal sources say the move is a radical, but potentially brilliant step by the contractor, as the condo has already been placed into receivership by a state Supreme Court judge. … Under federal law, a group of three creditors can join together to force a debtor into involuntary bankruptcy. Under bankruptcy, all of One Madison's creditors, who are owed hundreds of millions of dollars, would have to be worked out in bankruptcy court. The move improves the contractor's chances of getting paid."

One market analyst weighed in on the case saying, "Having them hire Barry Slotnick like this makes me think this is a pretty bold and proactive move."

The article also reported that "Slotnick, in a letter to Judge James Yates today, argued that the bankruptcy filing should halt the foreclosure case and move everything to the bankruptcy court, citing the multi-million dollar fraud case at the Salander O'Reilly Galleries, where Lawrence Salander was sued by multiple investors who claims they sold single pieces of art to multiple investors."