Sills Cummis & Gross P.C.

Sills Cummis & Gross is a recognized leader in New Jersey and New York in representing the financial services industry. For more than four decades, the Firm has represented, and continues to represent, international and prominent national banks and their subsidiaries, commercial finance companies, debt and equity funds, and private lenders. In 2017 and again in 2018, we received the Corporate Intl Magazine Global Award as the "Banking Litigation Law Firm of the Year in New Jersey."

The Firm has represented the financial services industry in a wide array of legal disputes and litigation matters in state and federal courts in New Jersey and elsewhere throughout the nation, including:

• Defense of Putative Class Action Lawsuits Relating to Subjects as Diverse as Equipment Leasing, Credit Insurance, Information Security, Credit Cards and an Alleged Conspiracy to Fix Interest Rates
• Defense of Lender Liability Claims
• Asset Recovery Litigation
• Negotiable Instrument Actions, such as Allegations of Forged Maker’s Signatures, Forged or Missing Endorsements, Alterations, Conversions, Fictitious Payees, Midnight Deadline Violations, Failure to Follow Restrictive Endorsements, Wrongful Dishonor, Unauthorized Preparation, and Failure to Stop Payment
• Allegations of Mishandled Wire Transfers, Unauthorized Withdrawals, Failure to Deliver Statements, Removals from Depository Bags and Safety Deposit Boxes, Improper Crediting of Deposits, and Improper Turnover of Funds among many other allegations
• Defense of Consumer Claims

Representative Matters

• Representation of a large New York-based hedge fund in a $47 million commercial foreclosure and subsequent collection proceeding that recovered the full amount of the judgment.
• Representation of national banks in federal and state courts in the successful defense of putative class actions involving, for example, prime interest rates, equipment leasing, information security, credit insurance, payoff fees, and real estate partnerships.
• Representation of a lending consortium in the foreclosure of a $1 billion acquisition and contraction loan made in connection with the redevelopment of a sports and entertainment complex.
• Representation of a lender in connection with a $400 million loan to one of the nation’s largest developers of retirement communities in its sixteen administratively consolidated Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in the Northern District of Texas.
• Representation of various investment funds in connection with the conversion of approximately $200 million of debt to equity to facilitate the acquisition of a bus manufacturer through a pre-negotiated Chapter 11 process in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.
• Representation of a lead lender in a $100 million syndicated loan in a multi-state real estate developer’s bankruptcy.
• Representation of a prepetition and DIP lender owed in excess of $100 million in the bankruptcy of one of the nation’s largest paper supply companies in a bankruptcy case pending in the Eastern District of Texas and a related case pending in the District of Delaware.
• Representation of a hedge fund in the foreclosure of a consolidated $60 million mortgage secured by an assemblage of commercial development properties in the Hudson Yards neighborhood in Manhattan.
• Representation of a major national bank in a multi-state residential real estate project to recover a $200 million loan, pending in Bankruptcy Court in the District of New Jersey.
• Representation of a life insurance company in the foreclosure of an acquisition, building and project loan in excess of $95 million secured by a development property (a former hospital) in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood in Manhattan, and obtained a judgment of foreclosure and sale.
• Representation of agent of participated $62 million dollar acquisition and construction loan in restructuring and foreclosure of the largest office tower in New Jersey.
• Representation of the first priority lender in the foreclosure of a senior living complex with respect to a first priority $35 million loan.
• Representation of a large financial institution as a secured creditor of a $25 million loan in the administratively consolidated Chapter 11 cases of a large residential real estate developer and its affiliates pending in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.
• Representation of a financial institution in connection with a negotiated restructuring of $53 million of credit components, real estate loans and tax-exempt bonds issued by an affiliated group of nursing homes, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities in New York State. The representation required expertise in New York State foreclosure law, health law, tax-exempt financing and governmental issues.
• Successfully defended a major national bank in a lengthy jury trial against allegations of a $250 million lender liability claim.

Creating and maintaining a diverse workplace is of paramount importance to Sills Cummis & Gross. The Firm has always been an advocate of minority hiring practices and is involved in a number of minority hiring, retention and diversity initiatives. The Firm’s Diversity Committee and Women’s Group focus on initiatives to enhance the culture of Sills Cummis & Gross and the quality of service to the Firm’s clients. Sills Cummis & Gross also encourages its attorneys to actively participate in minority bar associations and local and national women’s groups. 

The Sills Cummis & Gross Diversity Committee provides an avenue to continue to promote diversity within the Firm as well as within the legal community at large. The Committee hosts events aimed at increasing the dialog on diversity and providing insights and advice from experienced diverse attorneys. The Committee also provides a mentor to each diverse attorney entering the Firm, in addition to the Firm’s other mentoring programs. The Firm’s minority hiring, retention and diversity initiatives include participation in the New Jersey Law Firm Group, the Rutgers Law School Minority Student Program, and the New Jersey Law and Education Empowerment Project. 

The Sills Cummis & Gross Women’s Group is dedicated to promoting the professional and personal growth of women attorneys. Recognizing that women face unique challenges, the Women’s Group provides a forum for meaningful discussion and learning. The Group seeks to provide mentoring for our women attorneys, positioning them to lead us into the future at our Firm and in our communities. The Group sponsors both internal programs as well as programs which includes attorneys from outside the Firm. The Firm is a supporter of the National Association of Women Lawyers and the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association.