Altisource Asset Management Corp. Wins Precedent-Setting Equity Investment Appeal in NY

1 minute read | June.14.2023

The New York Supreme Court’s First Department Appellate Division rejected an effort by hedge fund Luxor to stretch the boundaries of shareholder rights, siding with our client Altisource.
The court held that the agreement unambiguously barred shareholders from redeeming their shares when a company lacks sufficient funds to pay the full redemption amount – in this case, $250 million.
The court agreed with an Orrick team’s arguments under settled New York contract law principles and the statutory framework governing preferred stock investments. The decision reversed a lower court decision that would have required these issues to be determined at trial, and instead directed judgment in our client’s favor.

The Orrick team was led by partner Darrell Cafasso, who argued the case, and included partner Danny Rubens and associates Katherine Munyan and Emily Villano.

Law360 covered the decision in this story.

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Darrell Cafasso Partner, Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Financial Services Litigation

New York

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D:+1 212 506 3618
E: [email protected]

Practice:

Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Financial Services Litigation
Securities Litigation, Class Actions and Shareholder Derivative Lawsuits
White Collar, Investigations, Securities Litigation & Compliance
Internal Investigations
Trials
Bankruptcy Litigation

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Darrell Cafasso Partner

New York

Prior to joining Orrick, Darrell served as the Global Head of Litigation and Regulatory Proceedings at Goldman Sachs, where he served as a key advisor to the firm and oversaw litigation, arbitration, and other disputes, as well as regulatory, criminal, and investigative proceedings, affecting Goldman Sachs, its world-wide affiliates, or their employees. In this role, Darrell managed a large international team of lawyers that determined legal strategy for threatened or actual litigations, regulatory and criminal matters and other contentious proceedings, oversaw internal investigations, and advised legal and business constituencies on legal, reputational and regulatory risks and issues involving all businesses of Goldman Sachs including investment banking, global markets, merchant banking, research, trading, lending, M&A, asset and wealth management, and consumer lending. Darrell was responsible for the firm’s most critical litigation and regulatory matters and successfully resolved a number of important matters on behalf of the firm.

Before joining Goldman Sachs in 2018, Darrell was a litigation partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. Over the years, Darrell has litigated a broad range of commercial cases, including in the areas of securities, banking, financial services, antitrust, consumer financial products, products liability, business torts, bankruptcy litigation, ERISA and other complex corporate litigation. For example, Darrell has represented several financial institutions and public companies, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Moody’s, Banco Popular, and Fiat Chrysler, in numerous securities class actions, shareholder litigations and other disputes. Darrell also has guided corporate and individual clients across the globe through multi-billion-dollar investigations, enforcement proceedings, and significant compliance matters including a wide range of matters before the DOJ, the SEC, the CFTC, FINRA, the Federal Reserve Bank, the New York Department of Financial Services and various state attorneys general, and foreign bank regulators. For example, Darrell advised Goldman Sachs in reaching coordinated resolutions in multiple criminal and regulatory investigations in jurisdictions around the world relating to an alleged multi-billion-dollar money laundering and corruption scheme involving the Malaysian sovereign development company, 1MDB, and senior public officials in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates. Darrell also served as lead counsel to one of the preeminent automobile manufacturers in multiyear criminal and regulatory investigations relating to diesel emissions, sales reporting and bribery issues.

Daniel A. Rubens Partner, Supreme Court & Appellate

New York

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D:+1 212 506 3679
E: [email protected]

Practice:

Supreme Court & Appellate

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Daniel A. Rubens Partner

New York

Danny's practice focuses on appellate litigation. He has led the drafting on dozens of appellate briefs, and regularly argues appeals in state and federal courts. Danny has extensive trial litigation experience as well, with an emphasis on dispositive motions, preserving appellate issues, and developing creative legal strategies.

Danny’s work has covered a wide range of subject areas, including securities, bankruptcy, intellectual property, arbitration, class actions, and criminal law. He has a deep understanding of appeals and critical motions in financial services litigation, and in recent years has played a key role in representing financial institutions in major RMBS cases brought by trustees, investors, and monoline insurers. His financial services clients include Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Mr. Cooper, and Ocwen. He also represents leading technology companies in precedent-setting cases involving antitrust law and ballot initiatives, as well as other complex commercial litigation. In addition, Danny is an experienced bankruptcy litigator, having represented various debtors and creditors in fraudulent transfer cases and other contested insolvency-related matters involving U.S. and foreign law.

Danny is a member of the Second Circuit's pro bono panel and maintains an active pro bono practice focusing on criminal, immigration, racial justice, and LGBTQ+ rights matters in the Supreme Court and other appellate courts. He was recently recognized by the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association as a “Best LGBTQ+ Lawyer Under 40,” by the New York Law Journal as a Rising Star, and by LawDragon in its inaugural 500 X – The Next Generation listing. As part of his commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Danny serves as a mentor for The Appellate Project, an organization focused on empowering law students of color to thrive in the appellate field. He has also served as an Orrick ambassador for the Move The Needle Fund, a collaborative effort designed by Diversity Lab to create a more diverse and inclusive legal profession.

Before joining Orrick, Danny served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Following his clerkships, he was selected to represent the American Inns of Court as a Temple Bar Scholar in London.

Katherine Munyan Senior Associate, Supreme Court & Appellate

New York

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D:+1 212 506 5247
E: [email protected]

Practice:

Supreme Court & Appellate

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Katherine Munyan Senior Associate

New York

Katherine represents clients in a wide range of complex litigation matters in both federal and state appellate courts. Her work spans a wide range of substantive areas, from contract interpretation and administrative law to novel questions of constitutional law and statutory interpretation. She maintains an active pro bono practice, focusing on issues of criminal justice and human rights.

Katherine rejoined Orrick after serving as a law clerk to Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Before joining Orrick, she clerked for Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. She also worked at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP on a range of commercial litigation and white collar matters.

Katherine graduated from Yale Law School, where she served was a member of the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic and the International Refugee Assistance Project. She has written, advised United Nations officials and diplomats, and appeared in a documentary addressing the genocide of the Rohingya in Myanmar. At Orrick, her pro bono practice has focused on the rights of defendants in the criminal justice system in the United States.

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