Peter Madoff, younger brother of Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff, is asking that a lawsuit filed against him by a Dix Hills law student be thrown out of State Supreme Court in Mineola, according to court documents.
Peter Madoff, younger brother of Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff, is asking that a lawsuit filed against him by a Dix Hills law student be thrown out of State Supreme Court in Mineola, according to court documents.
Madoff was sued in March by Andrew Ross Samuels, 22, a first-year student at Brooklyn Law School who alleged that his nearly $500,000 trust fund was destroyed in the financial scandal.
Ross charged that Madoff, 63, of Old Westbury, breached his duty as trustee by allowing the money to be invested with Bernard Madoff.
But in papers filed Friday with the court, Madoff said that while his brother admitted to carrying out the fraud, that doesn't make Peter Madoff liable for Samuels' losses. The trust agreement limits any trustee liability to "willful misconduct," not for any claims involving what he should have uncovered, Madoff's court papers stated.
In a letter to Madoff's attorney dated Monday, Samuels' attorney, Steven R. Schlesinger of Garden City, called the motion to dismiss the case frivolous and threatened to seek legal sanctions unless it was withdrawn.
Schlesinger said in the letter that Madoff has essentially admitted being a compliance officer at his brother's firm and thus had a legal obligation to know what was going on. That is enough to make out grounds for a lawsuit, said Schlesinger.
Madoff may be anxious to get the case thrown out because of a restraining order on his assets issued by Nassau County State Supreme Court Judge Stephen Bucaria. The order allows Madoff access to $10,000 a month in living expenses.
Charles Spada, the Manhattan attorney representing Madoff, couldn't be reached for comment Monday.
Votes:24
Comments: 0