Matthew D. Parrott

Mr. Parrott is the Chair of our New York Real Estate Litigation Group and is widely regarded as one of New York’s preeminent commercial finance and real estate litigation practitioners. During the course of his career, Mr. Parrott has acted as lead counsel in cases involving over $3 billion in secured finance transactions, including disputes involving securitized loans, loan participations, loan portfolio valuations, loan loss reserves, corporate acquisitions through U.C.C. foreclosures, intercreditor disputes, lender liability claims, mezzanine loans, and foreclosures of multiple commercial and residential developments throughout the United States. Mr. Parrott’s team of highly skilled commercial finance, real estate transactional and litigation professionals has achieved a remarkable winning record in highly complex matters, including cases involving multi-tiered loan facilities, failed construction projects, construction loan funding requirements, administration of complex receiverships, corporate governance disputes, and guaranty enforcement actions.

Mr. Parrott also has extensive experience in the sale and acquisition of distressed notes and assets including workouts, restructurings and due diligence activities.

In addition to his secured finance and real estate litigation practice, Mr. Parrott regularly represents financial institutions and other clients in federal and state securities litigation and class action lawsuits, merger and acquisition related litigations, “earnout” payment disputes, complex commercial litigation, as well as the defense of SEC and FINRA regulatory enforcement matters.

Representative Experience 

Commercial Finance and Foreclosure Litigation

• Acted as lead counsel in commercial foreclosure action and subsequent workout and restructuring of $261 million construction loan secured by mortgages on 47-story condominium building located at 15 William Street in Wall Street Financial District.
• Currently acting as counsel for lead agent on $500 million participated loan secured by mixed-use development on the Las Vegas strip in connection with foreclosure proceedings and multi-district litigation involving lender liability claims and lawsuit to recover funds under $40 million payment guaranty.
• Currently acting as lead counsel defending publicly held banking institution and its officers and directors against federal civil RICO and fraud claims in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging conspiracy to defraud borrowers in connection with large scale commercial loan transactions.
• Currently acting as lead counsel defending publicly held commercial finance company and its officers and directors in related securities class action and shareholder derivative lawsuits in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging that company intentionally understated amount of loan loss reserves required for distressed asset portfolio in order to facilitate $217.9 million follow-on offering of common stock.
• Successfully represented institutional lender in hostile takeover litigation filed in New York State Court after limited liability company borrower, a nationwide operator of megaplex movie theaters, defaulted under $60 million loan.
• Acted as lead counsel in commercial foreclosure action and related bankruptcy proceeding involving $250 million loan secured by mortgages on partially constructed 50-story high-rise condominium building located on Madison Avenue and 23rd Street in Manhattan.
• Successfully represented lender in foreclosure of newly constructed 42-story luxury hotel in Atlanta after developer defaulted under $145 million construction loan; obtained $35 million judgment on related payment guaranty in action brought in New York State Court.
• Acted as lead counsel in commercial foreclosure matter and subsequent workout and restructuring of $112 million loan issued to finance construction of partially completed 19-story condominium in Stamford, Connecticut.
• Won summary judgment on behalf of lender in mortgage foreclosure proceeding involving one block parcel of commercial property located on Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan after borrower defaulted under $104 million loan; decision rendered only 11 months following initiation of suit.
• Currently acting as lead counsel in commercial foreclosure action involving $76 million loan secured by mortgages on newly constructed 36-story high-rise apartment building located at Park Avenue and 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan and related lawsuit by developer asserting lender liability claims.
• Successfully represented senior lender in commercial foreclosure action involving $46 million loan secured by two apartment buildings located on 92nd Street on Upper East Side in Manhattan.
• Won summary judgment on behalf of lender in commercial foreclosure matter involving $37.5 million loan issued to finance construction of 16-unit luxury condo building located on Leonard Street in Soho, Manhattan; property successfully auctioned less than one year after initiation of suit.
• Currently acting as lead counsel representing lender in commercial foreclosure matter involving $35 million loan issued to finance construction and improvements for 210-unit residential apartment building located on West 75th Street in New York City.
• Won summary judgment on behalf of lender in commercial mortgage foreclosure matter involving $24 million loan issued to finance construction of shopping mall development in Staten Island, New York and related payment guaranty claims; decision rendered only eight months after initiation of suit.
• Successfully represented senior lender in commercial foreclosure action involving $20 million loan secured by mortgage on vacant parcel of real property located on Lexington Avenue and 65th Street in Midtown Manhattan.
• Won summary judgment on behalf of lender in commercial foreclosure matter involving $15 million loan issued to finance construction of condominium apartment building in New York City and obtained dismissal of developer counterclaims relating to lender’s refusal to fund certain draw requests.
• Successfully represented lender in commercial mortgage foreclosure matter involving $40 million loan issued to finance construction of 140 unit condominium apartment building located in Northern New Jersey and related bankruptcy action.

Lender Liability, Guaranty Enforcement and Related Litigation

• Lead counsel defending lender in lender liability lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York by developer of Ritz Hotel in Paradise Valley, Nevada seeking $1 billion in damages in connection with defaulted construction loan.
• Successfully defended lender in lender liability lawsuit brought by developer in New York State Court seeking to enjoin lender from declaring default under $80 million construction loan issued to finance 600-acre residential and commercial development in rural Virginia.
• Successfully represented lender in lender liability suit filed in New York County Supreme Court seeking $100 million in damages in connection with high-rise condo construction project involving $76 million loan; Court granted motion to dismiss claims less than 11 months after filing of suit.
• Successfully represented mezzanine lender under $22 million loan issued to finance acquisition of landmark office building located at 295 Madison Avenue in action filed to obtain declaratory judgment preventing borrower from extending maturity date of loan; loan repaid in full within eight weeks of filing of suit.
• Currently representing lender under $28 million senior loan facility in declaratory judgment action filed to prevent borrower from seeking to extend maturity date of loan secured by mortgage on Fisher Island development in Miami.
• Won CPLR 3211 motion to dismiss $22 million fraudulent transfer claim asserted against secured lender in New York State Court by Indenture Trustee seeking to unwind repayment of $140 million loan; all claims were dismissed at the outset of the litigation.
• Currently representing lender in CPLR 3213 proceeding filed in New York State Court to recover $18 million pursuant to payment guaranty issued in connection with $170 million loan issued to construct mixed-use building located in Washington, D.C.
• Currently representing lender in lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court seeking to recover $64 million under non-recourse carveout guaranty issued in connection with 660-acre development project located in South Florida.
• Currently representing lender in CPLR 3213 proceeding filed in New York State Court to recover $35 million under payment guaranty issued in connection with hotel development project.

Real Estate Litigation

• Won complete defense verdict after four-day trial before Judge Sidney Stein in the S.D.N.Y. federal district court, including dismissal of all claims brought by major bank relating to sale of participation interests in $54 million loan for construction of Los Angeles office building.
• Acted as lead counsel representing limited partner in lawsuit in New York State Court seeking to recover $22 million pursuant to completion guaranty issued in connection with conversion of landmark former candy factory building in downtown Brooklyn into condominium apartments.

Securities Class Action Lawsuits

• Representing financial institution in shareholder class action and shareholder derivative cases pending in the S.D.N.Y. The securities class action claims that the registration statement and prospectus for the financial institution secondary offering was false or misleading for failing to disclose accurately the financial institution’s loan loss reserves. It also claims that the financial institution should have disclosed the impact of the credit crisis on its business.
• Representing public company and certain of its current and former officers in securities fraud class action, related derivative cases and SEC investigation arising from its restatements of earnings. Recently obtained dismissal of all class claims and derivative claims, with prejudice, in one of the first decisions of its kind post-Tellabs. Appeals pending.

Securities Litigations and Regulatory Investigations

• Won Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss civil RICO claims asserted in S.D. Fla. federal district court against clearing broker alleging that multiple financial institution defendants aided and abetted stock manipulation scheme involving naked short selling of equities; RICO claims were dismissed with prejudice at the outset of the litigation.
• Compelled dismissal of Section 10(b) fraud action asserted in S.D.N.Y. federal district court against U.S. and U.K. based financial institutions alleging that they engaged in conspiracy to defraud plaintiffs in connection with plaintiffs’ sale of stock to third-party investor; plaintiffs voluntarily withdrew complaint after being served with motion for Rule 11 sanctions.
• Successfully represented major futures commission merchant in connection with CFTC investigation and related federal civil court action concerning hedge fund manager accused of fraudulently concealing $140 million in trading losses from fund investors.
• Successfully represented institutional trader in connection with investigations by the SEC and United States Attorney’s Office in which client was suspected of violating FINRA gift giving and entertainment rules in its dealings with mutual fund customers.
• Successfully represented floor broker in connection with SEC investigation relating to “busted trade” allegations arising from NYSE trading activity relating to banking crisis.

Merger and Acquisition-Related Litigations

• Won eight-figure settlement in arbitration venued before American Arbitration Association on behalf of sellers of Israeli telecommunications company based on claim that acquiror, a publicly held NYSE company, improperly refused to make “earnout” payments that accrued during three-year period following closing of merger.
• Obtained dismissal of claims asserted against major publicly held energy company in arbitration venued before American Arbitration Association seeking $40 million in damages allegedly resulting from termination of merger agreement; case settled on favorable terms and all claims were dismissed with prejudice.

Securities Arbitrations

• Won complete defense verdict for Fortune 100 financial services company and one of its money managers after three-day FINRA arbitration hearing involving claims asserted by corporation alleging fraud and mismanagement of employee profit-sharing plan.
• Won complete defense verdict for futures commission merchant accused of fraud in connection with foreign exchange trading operation after four-day NYSE arbitration hearing.
• Successfully represented major clearing firm in connection with over 100 securities arbitrations relating to accounts held at a single introducing broker accused of fraud and obtained complete dismissal of all such matters without a single adverse verdict against client.

Reported Decisions

• MB Financial Bank, N.A. v. 56 Walker, LLC, et al., 2011 WL 6338808 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 20, 2011)
• Howard Family Charitable Foundation v. Trimble, et al., 259 P.3d 850 (Ct. App. Okla. 2011)
• Garrison Special Opportunities Fund, L.P. v. Arthur Kill Hillside Development, LLC, ___ N.Y.S.2d ___, 2011 WL 1088116 (2d Dep’t Mar. 11, 2011)
• Citiline Holdings, Inc. v. iStar Financial Inc., 701 F. Supp.2d 506 (S.D.N.Y 2010)
• In re Agape Litigation, 681 F. Supp.2d 352 (E.D.N.Y. 2010)
• In re Tronox Securities Litigation, 262 F.R.D. 338 (S.D.N.Y. 2009)
• Eagletech Communications v. Citigroup, Inc., 2008 WL 3895576 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 20, 2008)
• Eagletech Communications v. Citigroup, Inc., 2008 WL 3166533 (S.D. Fla. June 27, 2008)
• Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Eustace, 2007 WL 1314663 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 21, 2007)
• Harmelin v. Man Financial Inc., 2007 WL 2874043 (E.D. Pa. Oct 2, 2007)
• Hodgson v. Man Financial Inc., 2006 WL 3791341 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 22, 2006)
• Sypniewski v. Warren Hills Regional Board of Education, 2006 WL 1675066 (D. N.J. June 14, 2006)

Lectures and Articles

Mr. Parrott is frequently quoted in the press and has taught trial skills classes, given lectures and published articles on various litigation topics. Recent lectures and articles include:

• "Multi-billion Dollar Private-equity Fund Targets Local Appraisers in Lawsuits," The Real Deal (May 1, 2012)
• "100G Anchor Rancor," The New York Post (February 20, 2012)
• Panelist, "Focus on Real Estate Markets and Opportunities," Leadership in the Distressed Markets, New York (January 25, 2012)
• "What Went Wrong at One Madison Park," The New York Times Magazine (October 13, 2011)
• “Enforceability of Guarantees and Related Issues,” Katten Seminar (September 14, 2011)
• "This year's highest-priced state court auction in Manhattan set for Murray Hill tower," The Real Deal (September 14, 2011)
• "CIM Group acquires loan at 47 East 34th Street extended-stay tower," The Real Deal (May 26, 2011)
• Panelist, “The Receiver/Special Asset Officer Relationship,” Bank & Special Asset Executive Forum On Distressed Real Estate, New York (March 28, 2011)
• “L.A. Firm Hits NY at a Trot,” Crain’s New York Business (January 16, 2011)
• “New Skyscraper Ignites Growth Below 34th Street,” The Wall Street Journal (January 10, 2011) 
•  IMN Panelist, “Construction Loans, Half-Built Projects & Transitional Asset Alternative Use,” Distressed Commercial Real Estate Forum, New York (September 24, 2010) 
•  "Westbrook, Moinian face $21M suit over Madison Avenue office tower," The Real Deal (August 11, 2010)
• "Tower of Legal Troubles," The Wall Street Journal (May 22, 2010)
• IMN Panelist, “Examining the Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Process,” Bankers Forum on Distressed Properties and Real Estate Loan Workouts (April 19, 2010) 
•  “Auction Looms for Luxury TriBeCa Co-Op Building,” Crain’s New York Business (April 16, 2010) 
•  “Lender Says Millions in One Madison Condo Funds Missing,” The Real Deal (March 29, 2010)
• “Real Property Foreclosure: A Step-By-Step Workshop,” National Business Institute Lecture (July 21, 2009)
• “Dealing With Borrower Defense Strategies in Commercial Loan Default and Mortgage Foreclosure Matters - A Practical Guide for Lenders,” PLI Institute Lecture (June 18, 2009)

Memberships and Affiliations

Mr. Parrott is a fully certified receiver in New York and a member of the Part 36 list of receivers maintained by the New York Office of Court Administration. In addition, he is a member of the Federal Bar Council. Mr. Parrott also is an arbitrator for FINRA and has regularly served on arbitration panels convened by FINRA to adjudicate securities litigation matters.

Education and Bar Admissions

Mr. Parrott received his undergraduate degree with honors (B.A., 1993) from Manhattanville College, where he earned the Howard Bloomquist Award for outstanding achievement in the study of history. He received his law degree (J.D., 1996) from Fordham Law School, where he was a staff member of the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal.

Mr. Parrott is admitted to practice before the New York State Bar, the United States Courts of Appeal for the Second, Sixth and Eleventh Circuits, and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. He also has been admitted to practice pro hac vice in various state and federal courts across the country.