| Biography:
David Lederkramer is a partner in Proskauer Rose LLP's Litigation Department, where, in more than 20 years of practice, he has typically represented clients in litigations involving complex financial, securities-related, and intellectual property issues.
In a major, multi-forum litigation sparked by the collapse of a commodities trading company and the criminal conviction of its president, David defended Ernst & Young against negligence and fraud claims asserted by five banks that claimed they relied on Ernst & Young's audit reports in extending $235 million in unrecovered loans. The actions included five in federal court in New York, two in federal court in Texas, two in federal court in Connecticut, bankruptcy proceedings in Connecticut, one in New York State Court, the criminal trial in federal court in New York, discovery throughout the United States and Europe, and wide coverage in the financial press, including a cover story in Forbes Magazine.
In the securities field, David has successfully moved to dismiss consolidated federal securities fraud class actions against an electronics manufacturer and has defended a well-known clothing retailer in similar proceedings. David also has represented Ernst & Young in private class actions and in administrative proceedings brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission charging, respectively, securities fraud and professional misconduct arising from Ernst & Young's examination of the financial statements of a major manufacturer of medical devices. The SEC proceeding culminated in a 50-day trial that followed three years of investigative and pre-trial proceedings. David has also represented the acquirer of a nationwide chain of retail video outlets in a post-acquisition lawsuit alleging violations of the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws.
In litigating a diverse array of contract disputes, David's engagements have included defending an international watch manufacturer in a breach of warranty action that was tried to verdict over the course of 18 days; defending Roosevelt Raceway in a dispute involving the theft of a racehorse; defending Quotron Systems, Inc. in a $70 million lawsuit for the allegedly improper dissemination of certain market data; representing a group of limited partners in a derivative action against the general partners of a partnership that owns a Manhattan office building, alleging breach of fiduciary duty and self-dealing; defending the American publisher of the Guinness Book of World Records in a suit seeking to terminate its rights to the book; enforcing covenants not to compete against a group of departing brokers from New York's largest commercial brokerage house; representing a partner in a highly successful emerging markets hedge fund in the course of a partnership dispute and dissolution; and defending the nation's largest benefits plan administrator against charges that it mishandled retirement plans with over $500 million in assets.
David also represents, in a variety of matters, Lewis S. Ranieri, the former Vice-Chair of Salomon Brothers, Inc. and the founder of the market for mortgage-backed securities, as well as Ranieri & Co., Inc. and related entities, such as Hyperion Partners, LP.
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