Preview
FILED: ROCKLAND COUNTY CLERK 12/08/2023 01:53 PM INDEX NO. 036350/2023
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 15 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/08/2023
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF ROCKLAND
------------------------------------------------------------------------x
DANIEL PECKMAN and GUISELA PECKMAN, : Index No.
:
Plaintiffs, : AFFIRMATION OF
: KEVIN FRITZ IN SUPPORT
v. : OF MOTION FOR
: SUMMARY JUDGMENT
TED MOZES, PLLC, : IN LIEU OF COMPLAINT
:
Defendant. : Motion Seq. No. 001
------------------------------------------------------------------------x
KEVIN FRITZ, an attorney admitted to practice before the Courts of this State, hereby
affirms the following under the penalties of perjury:
1. I am a member of the firm Meister Seelig & Fein PLLC (the “Firm”), counsel for
plaintiffs Daniel Peckman and Guisela Peckman (collectively, “Plaintiffs” or the “Sellers”).
2. I submit this affirmation in support of Plaintiffs’ motion for an Order: (a) pursuant
to CPLR § 3213, granting Plaintiffs summary judgment in lieu of complaint to domesticate a
judgment obtained against defendant Ted Mozes, PLLC (“Defendant” or the “Escrow Agent”) in
the State of Florida; said summary judgment to: (i) direct Defendant to release a $145,000 deposit
(the “Deposit”) held, in escrow, to Plaintiffs; and (ii) award Plaintiffs their reasonable attorneys’
fees, costs and expenses incurred in connection therewith; and (b) awarding Plaintiffs all such
other relief as the Court deems just and proper.
3. I am familiar with the reporting and monthly billing (on a time basis) of all charges
by the Firm, including its associates, paralegals, and administrative assistants, in connection with
this matter. The Firm maintains a computerized time reporting, maintenance, collation, tracking
and billing system and employs a full-time Director of Billing who oversees the system and
prepares and renders all invoices based on contemporaneous time records. All time is recorded by
1
1 of 4
FILED: ROCKLAND COUNTY CLERK 12/08/2023 01:53 PM INDEX NO. 036350/2023
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 15 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/08/2023
the timekeepers and expenses are reported on an out-of-pocket basis, with internal costs of
copying, etc., reported on an allocated basis, consistently applied among all clients. Invoices are
rendered to clients promptly after the end of each month, on a monthly basis for the immediately
preceding month.
4. Working on this matter with me is Olesya Khanas, a paralegal.
5. I have reviewed all time entries by each timekeeper and to the best of my knowledge
all reflect actual time expended on the matters in issue in this case. Some of the time expended
was not recorded and, therefore, not billed to the client, and is not reflected in the amounts shown
in this affirmation.
6. To avoid releasing the Deposit, the Escrow Agent improperly worked with the aptly
named 126 Covert Holdings LLC. Specifically, after the Florida court had ruled that Plaintiffs
were entitled to a return of the Deposit, 126 Covert Holdings LLC commenced an action in New
York “against” the Escrow Agent alleging that 126 Covert Holdings LLC had “funded” the
contract vendee’s Deposit and that, because the transaction did not close, 126 Covert Holdings
LLC was entitled to receive the Deposit from the Escrow Agent. See 126 Covert Holdings LLC v.
Ted Mozes, Sup. Ct., Rockland Cty. Index No. 033585/2022 (Dkt. 2).
7. Stunningly, 126 Covert Holdings LLC did not name Plaintiffs as an interested party
and then the Escrow Agent frivolously opposed Plaintiffs’ motion for leave to intervene in that
action. See 126 Covert Holdings LLC v. Ted Mozes, Sup. Ct., Rockland Cty. Index No.
033585/2022 (Dkt. 28). 126 Covert Holdings LLC later filed an Amended Complaint naming
Plaintiffs as defendants therein, see id. (Dkt. 41). This Court properly granted Plaintiffs’ motion
to dismiss, holding that, under the doctrine of res judicata, the Florida judgments precluded 126
2
2 of 4
FILED: ROCKLAND COUNTY CLERK 12/08/2023 01:53 PM INDEX NO. 036350/2023
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 15 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/08/2023
Covert Holdings LLC’s claims against Plaintiffs. See id. (Dkt. 64). The Escrow Agent frivolously
opposed Plaintiffs’ motion. See id. (Dkt. 61). A true copy of the Order is attached as Exhibit 1.
8. True copies of the Firm’s invoices to Plaintiffs, which aggregate $11,828.64, are
attached as Exhibit 2.
9. In sum, Plaintiffs unnecessarily incurred attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses
because the Escrow Agent has failed and refused to comply with the Florida judgments directing
that it return the Deposit to Plaintiffs.
Dated: New York, New York
December 8, 2023
________/s/ Kevin Fritz______________
KEVIN FRITZ
3
3 of 4
FILED: ROCKLAND COUNTY CLERK 12/08/2023 01:53 PM INDEX NO. 036350/2023
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 15 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/08/2023
Certificate of Compliance
I hereby certify that the number of words in the foregoing document, according to the word
count on the word processing program utilized, inclusive of point headings and footnotes, and
exclusive of the caption, tables of contents and tables of authorities (if any), signature block and
this certificate of compliance is 602.
Dated: New York, NY /s/ Kevin Fritz
December 8, 2023 KEVIN FRITZ
4
4 of 4
Preview
FILED: ROCKLAND COUNTY CLERK 12/08/2023 01:53 PM INDEX NO. 036350/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 15 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/08/2023 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF ROCKLAND ------------------------------------------------------------------------x DANIEL PECKMAN and GUISELA PECKMAN, : Index No. : Plaintiffs, : AFFIRMATION OF : KEVIN FRITZ IN SUPPORT v. : OF MOTION FOR : SUMMARY JUDGMENT TED MOZES, PLLC, : IN LIEU OF COMPLAINT : Defendant. : Motion Seq. No. 001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------x KEVIN FRITZ, an attorney admitted to practice before the Courts of this State, hereby affirms the following under the penalties of perjury: 1. I am a member of the firm Meister Seelig & Fein PLLC (the “Firm”), counsel for plaintiffs Daniel Peckman and Guisela Peckman (collectively, “Plaintiffs” or the “Sellers”). 2. I submit this affirmation in support of Plaintiffs’ motion for an Order: (a) pursuant to CPLR § 3213, granting Plaintiffs summary judgment in lieu of complaint to domesticate a judgment obtained against defendant Ted Mozes, PLLC (“Defendant” or the “Escrow Agent”) in the State of Florida; said summary judgment to: (i) direct Defendant to release a $145,000 deposit (the “Deposit”) held, in escrow, to Plaintiffs; and (ii) award Plaintiffs their reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses incurred in connection therewith; and (b) awarding Plaintiffs all such other relief as the Court deems just and proper. 3. I am familiar with the reporting and monthly billing (on a time basis) of all charges by the Firm, including its associates, paralegals, and administrative assistants, in connection with this matter. The Firm maintains a computerized time reporting, maintenance, collation, tracking and billing system and employs a full-time Director of Billing who oversees the system and prepares and renders all invoices based on contemporaneous time records. All time is recorded by 1 1 of 4 FILED: ROCKLAND COUNTY CLERK 12/08/2023 01:53 PM INDEX NO. 036350/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 15 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/08/2023 the timekeepers and expenses are reported on an out-of-pocket basis, with internal costs of copying, etc., reported on an allocated basis, consistently applied among all clients. Invoices are rendered to clients promptly after the end of each month, on a monthly basis for the immediately preceding month. 4. Working on this matter with me is Olesya Khanas, a paralegal. 5. I have reviewed all time entries by each timekeeper and to the best of my knowledge all reflect actual time expended on the matters in issue in this case. Some of the time expended was not recorded and, therefore, not billed to the client, and is not reflected in the amounts shown in this affirmation. 6. To avoid releasing the Deposit, the Escrow Agent improperly worked with the aptly named 126 Covert Holdings LLC. Specifically, after the Florida court had ruled that Plaintiffs were entitled to a return of the Deposit, 126 Covert Holdings LLC commenced an action in New York “against” the Escrow Agent alleging that 126 Covert Holdings LLC had “funded” the contract vendee’s Deposit and that, because the transaction did not close, 126 Covert Holdings LLC was entitled to receive the Deposit from the Escrow Agent. See 126 Covert Holdings LLC v. Ted Mozes, Sup. Ct., Rockland Cty. Index No. 033585/2022 (Dkt. 2). 7. Stunningly, 126 Covert Holdings LLC did not name Plaintiffs as an interested party and then the Escrow Agent frivolously opposed Plaintiffs’ motion for leave to intervene in that action. See 126 Covert Holdings LLC v. Ted Mozes, Sup. Ct., Rockland Cty. Index No. 033585/2022 (Dkt. 28). 126 Covert Holdings LLC later filed an Amended Complaint naming Plaintiffs as defendants therein, see id. (Dkt. 41). This Court properly granted Plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss, holding that, under the doctrine of res judicata, the Florida judgments precluded 126 2 2 of 4 FILED: ROCKLAND COUNTY CLERK 12/08/2023 01:53 PM INDEX NO. 036350/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 15 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/08/2023 Covert Holdings LLC’s claims against Plaintiffs. See id. (Dkt. 64). The Escrow Agent frivolously opposed Plaintiffs’ motion. See id. (Dkt. 61). A true copy of the Order is attached as Exhibit 1. 8. True copies of the Firm’s invoices to Plaintiffs, which aggregate $11,828.64, are attached as Exhibit 2. 9. In sum, Plaintiffs unnecessarily incurred attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses because the Escrow Agent has failed and refused to comply with the Florida judgments directing that it return the Deposit to Plaintiffs. Dated: New York, New York December 8, 2023 ________/s/ Kevin Fritz______________ KEVIN FRITZ 3 3 of 4 FILED: ROCKLAND COUNTY CLERK 12/08/2023 01:53 PM INDEX NO. 036350/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 15 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/08/2023 Certificate of Compliance I hereby certify that the number of words in the foregoing document, according to the word count on the word processing program utilized, inclusive of point headings and footnotes, and exclusive of the caption, tables of contents and tables of authorities (if any), signature block and this certificate of compliance is 602. Dated: New York, NY /s/ Kevin Fritz December 8, 2023 KEVIN FRITZ 4 4 of 4