Randy M.
Mastro

Won landmark Supreme Court ruling on behalf of Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn barring Governor Cuomo from imposing onerous fixed-capacity restrictions during the pandemic on “houses of worship” of 10 people in “red” zones and 25 people in “orange” zones, in violation of the First Amendment’s free exercise of religion protections. The victory was front-page news throughout the country and caused a sea change in how states regulated religious institutions during the COVID-19 crisis.

Conducted seven-week bench trial in the Southern District of New York (S.D.N.Y.) as lead trial counsel for Chevron in its RICO case against U.S. lawyer Steven Donziger and his clients for obtaining an $18 billion Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron procured by fraud and for engaging in a pattern of racketeering to extort money from Chevron. Presented the opening, closing and rebuttal closing at trial, and examined and cross-examined the key witnesses (including cross-examining the lead defendant, Steven Donziger, and the Ecuadorian judge who claimed to have authored the fraudulent Ecuadorian judgment, Nicholas Zambrano, but who had instead allowed the judgment to be ghostwritten in exchange for a bribe). Michael Goldhaber wrote in The American Lawyer that Randy’s cross-examination of Judge Zambrano was the turning point of the trial that will be talked about “in the annals of courtroom history,” and that the closing argument “out-classed” the opposition. And Paul Barrett of Bloomberg Businessweek wrote in his book that Randy’s cross-examination of Donziger was “blistering.” The American Lawyer called the Chevron case “The Trial of the Century”; The Wall Street Journal dubbed it the “The Legal Fraud of the Century”; and Benchmark Litigation named Randy “Trial Lawyer of the Year.” In 2014, the trial judge entered judgment in Chevron’s favor, along with a 485-page decision detailing his findings and barring Donziger and his clients from profiting from the Ecuadorian judgment or seeking to enforce it in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit unanimously affirmed the RICO judgment. Randy also litigated issues against the Republic of Ecuador relating to that case. Also for Chevron, he blocked enforcement of a sham $18 billion foreign arbitration award procured by fraud, eerily reminiscent of the earlier $18 billion fraudulent Ecuadorian judgment. For each of those wins, he was named The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week.”

Conducted a 25-day bench trial in the S.D.N.Y. as lead trial counsel for Lavastone, an AIG affiliate, in its $1 billion RICO, breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment case against Alan Buerger; his son, Reid Buerger; and the “Coventry” family of companies owned and operated by them. Lavastone’s claims concerned the Buergers’ practice of purchasing life insurance policies, laundering them through a shell company and then selling them to Lavastone at inflated prices. Successfully argued for summary judgment on Lavastone’s breach of contract claim against Coventry. Presented the opening, closing and rebuttal closing at trial, and examined and cross-examined the key witnesses, including the Buergers. Post-trial, the parties settled their differences, with one market participant saying that Alan Buerger “had to get his butt kicked first” before agreeing to settle the case.

Defended Lynn Tilton and her company, Patriarch Partners, against U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fraud charges over her management of a distressed debt CLO fund where the SEC sought disgorgement of more than $200 million and Lynn Tilton’s debarment for life as an investment advisor. Forced to go to trial in the SEC’s internal tribunal, Tilton turned to Randy to defend her, publicly describing him as the “General” of his (prior) firm’s litigation “army.” And go to war he did, mounting a vigorous defense during a three-week trial that vindicated her in the eyes of courtroom observers. Indeed, press accounts described the trial as “tilt[ing] in Lynn Tilton’s favor,” reporting that “Lynn Tilton’s lawyer, Randy Mastro, knows how to get attention with an opening statement” and “easily outdueled the SEC’s legal eagles.” In the end, the SEC ALJ issued a 57-page decision dismissing all of the SEC’s charges and finding all of the SEC’s factual allegations “unproven.” It was a stunning rebuke for the SEC, whose Enforcement Division wins 90 percent of the cases it brings before its in-house ALJs. But not this time. For achieving this extraordinary result, Randy was named The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week.” Also won outright dismissal in the S.D.N.Y. of a sweeping civil RICO action brought against Tilton and her company seeking more than $1 billion in damages against them.

Represented Madison Square Garden (MSG) and Cablevision on multiple high-profile litigation and other matters, including obtaining immediate dismissal in the S.D.N.Y. of multiple litigation claims against MSG. Also successfully represented MSG and others in litigations and other efforts challenging and ultimately defeating the City’s sweeping proposal to build a new stadium for the Jets on Manhattan’s West Side. Successfully defended Cablevision and MSG in $100 million antitrust suit brought by the New York Jets over their failed stadium bid.

Won major constitutional ruling in the S.D.N.Y. blocking onerous donor disclosure requirements imposed by New York State on “good government” groups like Citizens Union of the City of New York that had been critical of the Cuomo Administration, and also received attorneys’ fees award.

Defended DraftKings against State Attorney General litigations over the legality of daily fantasy sports in New York, Illinois and Texas. In the New York action, argued with prominent co-counsel against a preliminary injunction application, with commentators tweeting from the courtroom that “DraftKings got their money’s worth today” from its legal team, calling “Mastro, in particular,” “riveting.” Obtained a stay pending appeal and then resolved the case through state legislation legalizing daily fantasy sports in New York.

Won a New York State court ruling overturning the City’s ban on “soft foam” polystyrene food service items, such as coffee cups and food containers, on behalf of a broad coalition, including the Restaurant Action Alliance NYC, Dart Corporation, Plastic Recycling, Inc., and many small restaurant owners who depended upon cost-effective Styrofoam products to serve their customers. The court annulled the New York City Sanitation Commissioner’s ban, finding local law required recycling if “feasible” and that “the City’s position that these materials could not be readily recycled was wrong,” thereby overturning what The Wall Street Journal reported had been “one of the most significant environmental measures taken by Mayor Bill de Blasio.”

Represented The Home Depot in a series of litigations in states around the country that have denied The Home Depot refunds on monies that it remitted as sales tax in connection with its private label credit card program but consumers then defaulted on those transactions.

Represented Bear Stearns in resolving 100 securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigations involving IPO allocation and research analyst issues. Won dismissal of shareholder derivative action against Bear Stearns and its directors over alleged research analyst conflicts. Represented Bear Stearns officers and directors in obtaining dismissal of shareholder derivative actions over subprime issues.

Represented former directors of Daimler and Chrysler, who were alleged by the Chrysler Creditors Committee to have breached a fiduciary duty when Daimler transferred a majority stake of Chrysler to the private equity firm Cerberus. Within days of oral argument on a motion to dismiss the complaint brought in connection with the Chrysler bankruptcy, the Creditors Committee agreed to voluntarily dismiss.

Represented Wynn Resorts in a financial dispute with Atlantic-Pacific Capital, Inc. (APC), that APC originally sought to submit to arbitration. Wynn Resorts moved to federal court in Nevada and obtained a stay of arbitration, but the Ninth Circuit then ordered the case to go to arbitration. Wynn Resorts ultimately won the arbitration.

Defended Dow Jones & Company, Inc., in a consumer class action in the S.D.N.Y. brought on behalf of a putative nationwide class of annual WSJ.com subscribers regarding access to Barron’s Online.

Represented Bank of New York Mellon (BNY) on the appeal of a Bankruptcy Court decision that affected billions of dollars in transactions in the Lehman bankruptcy proceeding. The bankruptcy court’s decision caused turmoil in the international securitization markets by invalidating market-standard provisions in credit default swap agreements that were designed to protect those who invested in Lehman products. BNY was the trustee over the collateral securing those products; both the current noteholders and a Lehman subsidiary claimed priority to that collateral. English courts found for the noteholders; the bankruptcy court found for Lehman. When the district court agreed to entertain BNY’s appeal, the parties settled, relieving BNY of any potential liability.

Won dismissal of Chelsea Piers, L.P.’s lawsuit against the Hudson River Park Trust, a public benefit corporation, which sought to shift the burden of commercial pier repairs to the State, or to include Chelsea Piers in the Trust’s plan to redevelop certain piers as a public park. After extensive oral argument, the trial court held that Chelsea Piers’s suit was time-barred under the parties’ 1994 lease agreement.

Won a critical victory for New York Skyline, Inc., obtaining a unanimous reversal from New York’s Appellate Division, First Department of a ruling of the New York State Supreme Court that threatened to put Skyline out of business. The City of New York began attempting to enforce New York City’s General Vendor Law against Skyline, contending the agents were wrongfully selling “goods or services” on the sidewalk without an impossible-to-obtain “general vendor” license. The First Department was successfully convinced to overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling that general vendor licenses were required for sidewalk ticket sales.

Won dismissal of all claims in a challenge under zoning, environmental and local administrative laws to plans by a leading New York City nonprofit, BRC, to establish a homeless shelter and related programs in a new neighborhood.

Defended Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield/WellPoint in an action by pension funds that sought more than $6 million in rebates rightfully earned by Empire, securing a dismissal from the bench at oral argument of all causes of action with prejudice. Also won substantial recoveries for Empire against employer and union funds that were defrauding Empire by enrolling sham members; successfully defended Empire in a lawsuit brought by excess malpractice insurers seeking $75 million in damages; blocked class certification in a major pain treatment coverage case; defended Empire in two ERISA trials; represented Empire in patent infringement litigation over Empire’s online claim intake procedure and achieved favorable settlement for Empire.

Successfully defended IAC’s Home Shopping Network against claims brought in federal court by a competitor alleging trade secret infringement and breach of contract over a “falling price” auction channel launched by Home Shopping Network, and won summary judgment dismissing trade secret claims on the eve of trial.

Obtained summary judgment for Verizon in a New York franchise tax case brought by the City of New York seeking to force Verizon to enter into a separate municipal franchise agreement and pay an annual sum in addition to the nine-figure sum it was already paying. Verizon filed a motion to dismiss, which was converted to a motion for summary judgment. In 2009, the Court (Hon. Ira Gammerman) ruled that Verizon, through its predecessors, had obtained a franchise from the State of New York to operate a telecommunications business and that said franchise had no temporal limit. Also successfully defended Verizon New York in a significant real estate dispute against a City entity seeking more than $100 million; secured dismissal of all claims against Verizon.

Defended Nursing Personnel Homecare, a Brooklyn-based home health aide agency, and its chief operating officer (COO) against overbilling and other charges by the New York Attorney General. Convinced a state court judge to keep the indictment under seal and developed a compelling argument that the defendants had acted in good faith and in accordance with existing DOH regulations. Also uncovered exculpatory information that the prosecutors failed to disclose, leading to the dismissal of the felony criminal case against the company and the COO, and a civil settlement that permitted the company to continue as a thriving home health aide agency.

Defended and ultimately resolved wage and hour class actions filed against supermarket chain Gristedes over its compensation of delivery workers.

Won dismissal and New York Court of Appeals affirmance of state constitutional litigation challenging New York State’s plan to permit Indian casino gaming, and then won affirmance of that dismissal in the New York Court of Appeals on behalf of Park Place/Caesar’s/Harrah’s.

Won appeal vacating a New York City Department of Education contract award that would have stripped Xerox of its long-standing franchise as the school system’s provider of copying services.

Headed litigation team for Peter Kalikow in his bankruptcy proceeding, the largest individual debtor bankruptcy in history; also successfully litigated issues for Kalikow relating to The New York Post sale; won sanctions for Kalikow against Sheldon Solow and Mark Dreier for contempt of bankruptcy court order.

Won unanimous appellate victory for Edison Properties and other adjoining private property owners permitting demolition of the High Line without ULURP review; won court ruling compelling New York State to admit an Edison-owned westside property into the Brownfields benefit program.

Represented Staten Island voters pro bono in a suit that exposed election law violations by the Working Families Party. The suit resulted in a settlement that forced the Working Families Party to relinquish its control over its corporate arm, Data and Field Service, Inc. (DFS), through which it provided cut-rate campaign services and skirted local campaign finance laws, and (2) to see to it that DFS operated independently going forward.

Challenged New York City legislation overturning the voter-ratified two-term limit that permitted Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council to seek a third term.

Defended Edison Schools in several cases including securities class action and shareholder derivative litigations over accounting practices.

Represented a multicultural broadcasting station owner in a series of actions over removal of Air America, a liberal talk radio network, from the air in Chicago and Los Angeles.

Won trademark litigation for Lee Strasberg Institute, founded by famous actor and acting teacher Lee Strasberg, over a former student’s misuse of the Strasberg mark as a domain name.

Represented Anna Kournikova in misappropriation and privacy action against Penthouse magazine for running a piece about the tennis star in which it featured nude photographs of another woman misidentified as Kournikova.

Represented Martina Hingis in product liability action against Tacchini, the Italian sports clothing manufacturer, over defectively designed tennis shoes; successfully represented Hingis and her coach-mother in an action to require the USTA and WTA to afford her coach-mother access to the women’s locker room during the 2000 U.S. Open.

Represented Octagon as New York City’s agent in litigation and negotiations over the City’s award of an exclusive sponsorship agreement to Snapple; represented Octagon in several breach of contract actions involving athlete representations.

Represented more than 20 present and former Kmart officers in connection with SEC investigation and related Justice Department investigation of Kmart accounting and disclosure issues.

Defended Ziff Davis in suit brought by former executive seeking $40 million in damages; successfully represented Ziff Davis in obtaining injunction to prevent another former executive from violating a noncompete agreement and misappropriating trade secrets.

Represented more than 20 percent of the families of fallen firefighters lost in the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in a dispute with the Uniform Firefighters Association over the union’s refusal to distribute $60 million in donations intended for those families.

Defended Parkshore, a nursing home and adult day healthcare facility, in the largest Medicaid fraud case ever brought by the New York Attorney General’s Office; secured a plea disposition and civil settlement in which Parkshore remained in operation under its same family ownership.

Won dismissal of libel action brought by former Wall Street Journal reporter over Dow Jones’s public statements about his departure; won acquittal for Wall Street Journal employee accused of criminal trespass.

Headed federal government’s civil racketeering suit in U.S. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters that compelled International Brotherhood of Teamsters to hold democratic elections and undergo court supervision; case was cited by The American Lawyer as one of the “ten biggest suits” of the decade.

Was part of trial team that successfully defended CBS during six-month jury trial of libel suit brought by General Westmoreland; case was cited by The American Lawyer as one of the “ten biggest suits” of the decade.

Served as federal court-appointed Special Master/Monitor of assets of Gaith Pharaon, a Saudi tycoon implicated in the BCCI scandal.

Won substantial recovery for Saks in civil racketeering action against a Saks executive who took kickbacks and rigged bids on Saks capital projects; conducted investigation that led to that civil action and criminal prosecution.

Represented Intelligent Electronics in major federal securities fraud class action suit; won partial dismissal of suit.

Served as outside counsel to the 1993 Giuliani mayoral campaign; won victories that required the Dinkins campaign to pay more than $500,000 in fines and reimbursement under New York City’s campaign finance law; represented Giuliani Partners in legal dispute.

Served as Associate Counsel during the first six months of the Independent Counsel investigation of former HUD Secretary Samuel Pierce.

Brought successful suit on behalf of the Graf family to prevent a rich, eccentric tennis fan from harassing them during the U.S. Open.

Defended Merv Griffin in wrongful discharge suit brought by fired Griffin executive; defended Griffin in suit brought by former employee for breach of contract to provide lifetime support; successfully litigated adversary proceedings in Resorts bankruptcy.

Won injunction after six-week trial for nation’s largest debt collection business, HHL Financial Services, against two executives/attorneys who left the company to do debt collection work in violation of noncompete agreements.

Member of team that obtained injunction to prevent Reuters from ending its photo-sharing agreement with United Press International.

Represented schoolteacher discharged for giving her students assignment on whether CBS should have fired Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder over his remarks about black athletes; won reinstatement, back pay.

Successfully defended in four-week jury trial undercover police detective accused of brutality in arresting drug dealers.