Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Action Against Kramer Levin Client Terry Allen Kramer

On September 6, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit unanimously affirmed a district court decision dismissing with prejudice a suit accusing prominent members of the Allen family of fraudulently transferring stakes in a family ranch in Arizona in order to protect a dying family member’s interest in the ranch from a creditor, Excelsior Capital. The complaint named Herbert A. Allen, the CEO of the investment bank Allen & Company; Terry Allen Kramer, a well-known Broadway producer; and Terrence McCarthy, vice president and co-chief operating officer at Allen & Company. The district court dismissed the action on the pleadings. The Second Circuit affirmed on the grounds that Excelsior Capital had no claim for compensatory damages and that the claim for punitive damages failed under New York law. The Second Circuit also rejected the plaintiff's demand for attorney's fees.

Terry Allen Kramer was represented by Gary P. Naftalis, the co-chair of the firm and the firm's Litigation Department, and associate Scott Ruskay-Kidd.