New York partner Marc E. Hirschfield was featured in a November New York Law Journal article regarding a default judgment issued in the Securities Investor Protection v. Bernard L. Madoff Investment matter.
The article detailed the default judgment of more than $1 billion against Harley International, a feeder fund that moved some $2 billion to Madoff’s operations over the course of several years. Harley was sued by court-appointed bankruptcy trustee and Baker Hostetler partner Irving H. Picard. Hirschfield, along with partner David Sheehan, filed a complaint against Harley on the trustee’s behalf, requesting repayment of funds withdrawn from the fund’s Madoff accounts over the course of six years (including some $425 million withdrawn during the three months prior to Madoff’s arrest).
When Harley failed to answer the trustee’s complaint filed by Hirschfield and Sheehan, the judge entered an additional default judgment of $6.02 million—in addition to the trustee summary judgment against Harley of nearly $1.1 billion. The article noted that the trustee will now begin seeking recovery on the judgment.
The article also provided an update on other trustee suits against feeder funds that funneled millions to Madoff. Lawyers representing Ascot Partners have moved to dismiss the trustee’s case and told reporters that the Harley decision does not impact their case. Attorneys for Fairfield Greenwich would not comment on the Harley case, as they had not read the decision.