Brian M. Levine, Esq.

Brian is a commercial litigator who also drafts the deals. He litigates in New York State Supreme Court, in federal court, in the Appellate Division, and before the American Arbitration Association. He has recovered millions of dollars in judgments and settlements for clients, including judgments of $706,000, $213,993, $205,000, and $140,000 on breached contracts and unpaid promissory notes. In a federal RICO action, he won dismissal with prejudice of numerous claims against his clients, including the trade secret claims, and twice had the opposing parties held in contempt. He freed $1.6 million in sale proceeds that had been tied up by a preliminary injunction for years before he was retained, then had the action dismissed, and he compelled a competitor to permanently abandon a client's trade name.

Many of these results were won on procedure, and several were won on appeal. In the Second Department, Brian reversed an order that had left a default foreclosure judgment in place, on a challenge to service of process. In three First Department appeals for a general contractor, the court twice upheld the dismissal of a subcontractor's claims as time-barred and once struck fraudulent conveyance claims that could not relate back to the original complaint. In the trial court, he vacated a $584,960 default judgment to strip an insurer of its prejudice defense and force it to cover the claim. Brian is known among colleagues for his command of New York civil procedure, and other attorneys regularly consult him on procedural questions in their own cases.

Brian represents LLC members, managers, and companies in ownership disputes. He defended a development company and its managers against a derivative action brought by a group of minority members alleging $8.5 million in damages for managerial misconduct, minority oppression, and breach of the operating agreement, and he recovered $115,000 for an LLC member in a derivative action over wrongfully withheld distributions.

Construction disputes are a large part of that commercial practice. Brian secured a $1.2 million settlement for a general contractor in a lien foreclosure and breach of contract action on a Queens construction project of more than $20 million, and a $259,850 payment for a general contractor in arbitration after he forced the owner to drop its construction defect counterclaims on the eve of the hearing. Defending a general contractor against a subcontractor's claims of more than $600,000 on two Manhattan hotel projects, he had the mechanic's liens cancelled and won summary judgment. He has also successfully defended general contractors against construction defect claims on multi-unit condominium buildings.

He defends general contractors, developers, and property owners in Labor Law and premises liability actions, and he takes on the carriers behind those cases. A jury found no liability against a general contractor he defended at trial, in an action the remaining defendants later settled for more than $4 million. He forced an insurer to pay a $530,000 judgment entered against a client after trial, and compelled a carrier that had disclaimed coverage to withdraw its disclaimer, take over the defense, and reimburse every legal fee the client had incurred.

On the transactional side, Brian drafts and negotiates asset and stock purchase agreements, membership interest sales in real estate holding companies, commercial leases, management agreements, licensing and distribution agreements with nationwide retailers, and AIA construction agreements for projects upwards of $25 million. He has represented clients in sales of commercial properties ranging from $1 million to $23 million, and the buyers and sellers of laundromats, gas stations, hair salons, online entertainment companies, mobile dog grooming businesses, and franchise restaurants.