• EDWARD S. RUDOFSKY, ESQ
• ERIC S. HOROWITZ, ESQ

Edward S. Rudofsky has been associated with the firm since 1978 and a member since 1980. Mr. Rudofsky is a highly regarded litigator and appellate advocate with a wealth of practical experience in cases involving commercial and real estate issues, zoning, administrative law, and constitutional questions; has substantial experience counseling non-profit and religious institutions; administers the alternative dispute resolution program of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism; and serves as a mediator for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

The more than 100 reported decisions in which Mr. Rudofsky has been counsel include a number of leading cases in which he has represented clients of the firm, such as:

• Roba v. United States, 604 F.2d 215 (2nd Cir. 1979) (establishing right of Federal prisoner to seek writ of habeas corpus challenging detention in response to removal proceeding);


• Gartner v. Snyder, 607 F.3d 582 (2nd Cir. 1979) (recognizing theory of "horizontal piercing of the corporate veil" between related corporations);


• Shu-Tao Lin v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 742 F.2d 45 (2nd Cir. 1984) (establishing cause of action for airplane passengers' fear of impending death);


• Lerman v. Flynt Distributing Co., Inc., 745 F.2d 123 (2nd Cir. 1984) (recognition of author Jackie Collins as "limited purpose public figure" and reversal of $10 million verdict as a matter of constitutional law);


• Richmond Children's Center, Inc. v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Cos., 128 A.D.3d 849 (2nd Dept. 1987) (establishing duty of insurer to defend when property is the subject of a licensing agreement, rather than a lease);


• Potamkin Cadillac Corp. v. B.R.I. Coverage Corp., 38 F.3d 627 (2nd Cir. 1994) (affirming dismissal of insurance broker's counterclaims in Civil RICO action);


• Jay-Jay Cabaret, Inc. v. State of New York et al.,,, 164 Misc.2d 673 (N.Y. Co. 1994), aff'd 215 A.D.3d 172 (1st Dept. 1995) (striking SLA "Six Foot Rule");


• South Huntington Jewish Center, Inc. v. Heyman, 282 AD 2d 684 (2nd Dept. 2001) (establishing arbitrability of Human Rights Law claims under broad form arbitration clause);


• Lerner v. Fleet Bank, N.A., 318 F.3d 113 (2nd Cir. 2003) (establishing right to plead separate companion actions so as to invoke diversity jurisdiction), and 459 F.3d 273 (2nd Cir. 2006) (sustaining common law negligence claims against Banks in Ponzi scheme);


• Solomon v. Lancaster, 19 A.D.3d 334 (1st Dept. 2005) (establishing quorum requirement for taking of testimony before administrative board and extending rule prohibiting union members from hearing license applications by non-union applicants);


• Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, Inc. v. Sharf, 59 A.D. 3d 403 (2nd Dept. 2009) (modifying injunction), and 59 A.D.3d 408 (2nd Dept. 2009) (modifying judgment of ejectment so as to prevent eviction of religious congregation from historical house of worship).

Mr. Rudofsky, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School and Queens College of the City University of New York, and is a member of the charter class of Hofstra University School of Law, where he was the Managing Editor of the Law Review.

Upon graduation from law school, he was accepted into the Attorney General's Program for Honor Law Graduates and served as a Trial Attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Rudofsky was then appointed as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, ultimately serving as Deputy Chief of the Civil Division.

During his tenure in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Rudofsky handled a number of high profile cases, including Meir Kahane's constitutional challenges to his conviction and conditions of imprisonment, the constitutional challenge to the Hyde Amendment (restriction on Federal funding of abortions), the CIA-mail opening case, the Croatian skyjacking case, and the last contributory negligence case tried in the State of New York, as well as administering the clinical practice program as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School.

He has been admitted to practice law in New York and in various Federal trial and appellate courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States; and is a member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the Federal Bar Council, and the First Amendment Lawyers Association.

Mr. Rudofsky is a director of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the author of The Role of the Synagogue Board in the Employment of the Rabbi (MetNY 2007) Revised Standards for Congregational Practice (CJ Magazine, 2007), and Conservative Judaism 101: A Primer for New Members (And Practically Everyone Else) (SHJC, 2008-2011), and the principal reviser of The USCJ Guide to Contractual Relations (2010). He also serves as ex officio, legal counsel for Richmond Community Services in Mount Kisco, NY.

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Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation
Real Estate Litigation
Non-Profit & Religious Corporation
Zoning Litigation
Administrative Law

Education

J.D., Hofstra University Law School, 1973
B.A., Queens College, 1970

Bar Admissions

New York
U.S. Court of International Trade
U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
U.S. District Court, Southern District of NY
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of NY
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Professional Affiliations

New York State Bar Association
American Bar Association
Federal Bar Council
First Amendment Lawyers Association

Publications

Conservative Judaism 101: A Primer for New Members (2008-2011)

The USCJ Guide to Contractual Relations (2010)

The Role of the Synagogue Board in the Employment of the Rabbi (2007)

Revised Standards for Congregational Practice (2007)