Bankruptcy Judge Bernstein To Take Over Madoff Case
Law360 – By Maria Chutchian – The seemingly endless Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC wind-down is being handed to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stuart M. Bernstein following the unexpected death of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland, who had overseen the case for the past several years, a court official said Tuesday.
The remaining cases Judge Lifland was working on will be split up among the other judges at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
Additionally, the court will soon bring on U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert E. Grossman from the Eastern District of New York as a visiting judge as it braces itself to lose another of its veteran jurists at the end of the month. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James M. Peck, who presided over the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and has continued to oversee the winding down of the estate, is set to retire Jan. 31. Judge Grossman will take over most of his caseload.
Judge Grossman will not take on the Lehman case, however. That will go to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley C. Chapman.
The Southern District bankruptcy court is in need of new judges, with a deadline for applications due in February. Yet another long-time judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan L. Gropper, is prepared to retire in October.
“Hopefully we’ll get a few new judges soon,” Chief Deputy Una O’Boyle said.
Judge Bernstein’s calendar already was lined up with Madoff matters Tuesday, just a day after the court announced Judge Lifland’s death over the weekend.
Judge Bernstein has been on the bench since 1993 and previously has served as chief judge. Before joining the court, he practiced law at Rosenman & Colin and Kensington & Ressler PC. Between his stints at those firms, Judge Bernstein was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
In recent years, Judge Bernstein has overseen the bankruptcies of Musicland Holding Corp., Pfizer Inc. unit Quigley Co., Dreier LLP, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Hawker Beechcraft Inc., Journal Register Co. and Ampal-American Israel Corp.