Richard Y. Im is a Member of the Sills Cummis & Gross Litigation and Real Estate Departments. He concentrates his practice on complex commercial litigation, with a particular focus on creditors’ rights and real estate disputes.
Mr. Im has extensive experience in all aspects of real estate litigation, including commercial foreclosures, lender liability claims, title issues, priority disputes, mechanic’s liens, contract and joint venture disputes, construction claims, access agreements, brokerage matters, and other issues. He also represents lenders, borrowers, and investors in loan workouts, restructurings, and modifications, and in the purchase and sale of distressed debt.
During law school, he served as Articles and Notes Editor for the St. John’s Law Review.
Practices
- Litigation
- Real Estate
- Real Estate Litigation
- Loan Workouts and Restructuring
Representative Matters
- Successfully resolved significant portion of $250 million nonperforming loan portfolio while acting as outside counsel to leading provider of capital and construction financing for affordable housing projects in New York State, involving stalled development and rehabilitation projects throughout New York City that presented unique and complex issues that were resolved through loan workouts, litigation, and foreclosure.
- Successfully represented real estate investment arm of a global financial services firm in the acquisition and foreclosure of distressed loans secured by distressed real estate development projects, multifamily, office, and commercial buildings.
- Successfully represented developer in connection with the acquisition of a golf course and country club for development of multifamily mixed-use project achieved through the purchase of defaulted loans, foreclosure, complex workout, and deed in lieu of foreclosure, and subsequent partition proceeding against remaining tenants in common.
- Successfully represented junior lender in intercreditor dispute with senior lender arising from foreclosure of a syndicated loan against Manhattan’s largest housing complex.
- Successfully represented title insurance company in coverage investigation and declaratory judgment action arising from subordination of lender’s $10 million mortgage to mechanic’s liens due to alleged failure to comply with Section 22 of the Lien Law, which was decided by the New York Court of Appeals in Altshuler Shaham Provident Funds, v. GML Tower, LLC, 21 N.Y.3d 352 (2013).
- Successfully represented real estate developer and general contractor in an action by a minority subcontractor pursuing multimillion dollar breach of contract and discrimination claims which were dismissed after a two-week jury trial in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York resulting in a full defense verdict.
- Appointed by title insurance company to defend lender against mechanic’s lien priority claim asserted against lender in response to foreclosure action of $543 million mortgage against stalled condominium development project in midtown Manhattan.
Affiliations
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Member, American Bar Association
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Member, Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York
Education
- J.D., St. John’s University School of Law
- B.A., Boston University
