Michael Cardello III has been with the Firm since 1997 and a Partner since 2006.  Mr. Cardello has served on the Firm’s Management Committee since 2014 and he currently serves as the Firm’s Managing Partner.  Mr. Cardello concentrates his practice in complex commercial litigation, in both state and federal courts, and is often appointed as Special Master and Special Referee by various courts to oversee all aspects of discovery in complex commercial cases. Prior to joining the firm, he served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Arthur D. Spatt, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Mr. Cardello represents large and small businesses, financial institutions, and individuals in Federal and State Courts in complex commercial matters.  He has a wide range of experience that includes trials and appellate work in the areas of corporate disputes, shareholder derivative actions, dissolutions, construction disputes, equipment and vehicle leasing disputes, and other complex commercial and business disputes.

Since 2021, Mr. Cardello has served as the Special Master in a matter involving three related cases captioned: Jacob Harounian, et al. v. Mark Harounian, et al.;  Homapour, et al. v. 3M Properties, LLC, et al.; and United Hay, LLC v. Jacob Harounian. These cases involve a multi-million dollar dispute among members of numerous LLC’s which own over $500MM worth of real estate in New York City.  During his tenure, Mr. Cardello has resolved over twenty-four discovery disputes which led to twelve significant written decisions.

Since 2018, Mr. Cardello has served as the Special Discovery Master in a significant multi-million dollar insurance coverage dispute matter venued in the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court, New York County, captioned Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, et al. v. AT&T Corp, et. al.  During his tenure as Special Discovery Master, Mr. Cardello has issued numerous decisions related to discovery as well as overseeing the discovery process.

From 2013 to 2016, Mr. Cardello served as the Special Referee to oversee the dissolution of a law firm and the wind-up of its affairs in a case captioned Brad W. Cronin v. Laureen C. Harris, et al.  During his appointment, Mr. Cardello dealt with many legal issues and was successful in separating the law firm into two firms.  On consent of the parties, he has presided over a trial on one unresolved issue related to the wind-up which resulted in a settlement.

From 2009 through 2015, Mr. Cardello served as the Special Referee in a very large multi-party construction defect case captioned Archstone v. Tocci Building Corporation of New Jersey.  During his appointment, Mr. Cardello issued numerous decisions regarding complex e-discovery issues as well as issuing decisions on other non-dispositive motions.

From 2012 to 2016, Mr. Cardello served as the Special Referee in the related insurance coverage action to the Archstone construction defect case, captioned QBE Insurance Corporation v. Adjo Contracting Corporation.  During his tenure, Mr. Cardello issued numerous decisions and rulings in order to prepare the case for trial. Mr. Cardello was also involved in the settlement process, which led to a resolution.

From 2005 through 2008, Mr. Cardello served as the Special Referee to oversee all aspects of discovery in Delta Financial Corp. v. Morrison, in which he rendered many written decisions related to discovery and privilege issues as well as presided over sixty-five depositions.

Mr. Cardello is also approved by the Office of Court Administration in the State of New York to serve as a Receiver and has been appointed by the Court as Receiver to oversee the dissolution and wind-up of the affairs of businesses and for the collection of rents for commercial properties.  From 2017 to 2019, Mr. Cardello also served as a Court-Appointed Receiver in a case which involved a 250,000 square foot office building that was the subject of a commercial foreclosure captioned U.S. Bank National Association v. CLK-HP 90 Merrick LLC, et al.  In 2023, Mr. Cardello served as Receiver for a lender to recover over $25MM loan proceeds related to real estate in New York in a case captioned Igal Khorshidi v. Brookhill Capital Partners, LLC, et al.

Mr. Cardello is the Chair for the Commercial and Federal Section of the New York State Bar Association.  Previously, he served as the Chair of the Federal Courts Committee and the Commercial Litigation Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association.  Mr. Cardello also previously served on the Judiciary Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association.  In addition, he is a participant at the Sedona Conference and also frequently lectures on mediation, discovery, trial practice, equipment and vehicle leasing issues and e-discovery.

Education

Hofstra University, J.D. (1996)
Associate Editor, Hofstra Law Review
Hofstra University, M.B.A. (Finance) (1988)
Hofstra University, B.B.A. (Marketing) (1986)

Admissions

Mr. Cardello is admitted to practice law in New York.  He is also admitted to practice in the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Affiliations

Mr. Cardello serves on the EDNY Litigation Advisory Committee, as well as on the Nassau County Bar Association’s WE CARE Fund Advisory Board. Mr. Cardello also serves on the Board of Directors of the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Nassau County.  Mr. Cardello is the former President (2017-2018) of the Theodore Roosevelt American Inn of Court.  He serves on the Board of the Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals and on the Board of Directors for the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.

Recognitions

2023-New York Super Lawyers®
2022-New York Super Lawyers®
2021-New York Super Lawyers®
2020-New York Super Lawyers®
2019-New York Super Lawyers®
2018-New York Super Lawyers®
2017-New York Super Lawyers®
2016-New York Super Lawyers®
2015 ALM Top-Rated LI Lawyer Annual Legal Leaders Guide

Court Appointments

Appointments as Special Master/Special Referee in the below-referenced matters overseeing all aspects of discovery:

Jacob Harounian, et al. v. Mark Harounian, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, New York County,
Index No. 450615/2019, Hon. Joel M. Cohen

Mehrnaz Nancy Homapour, et al. v. 3M Properties, LLC, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, New York County,
Index No. 653795/2015, Hon. Joel M. Cohen

United Hay, LLC v. Jacob Harounian,
New York Supreme Court, New York County,
Index No. 657310/2017, Hon. Joel M. Cohen

Village of Farmingdale v. Aluminum Louvre Corp. et al,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 603443/2019, Hon. Eileen C. Daly-Sapraicone

Lancer Insurance Company, et al.
v. Allied World Insurance Company, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 614121/2017, Hon. Eileen C. Daly-Sapraicone

Louis Monteleone Fibres, Ltd.
v. Hudson Baylor Brookhaven, Ltd, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Suffolk County,
Index No. 604674/2019, Hon. James Hudson

Michael Newman v. Alena Rastopchina, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 606498/2019, Hon. Sharon M. J. Gianelli

Adam Schwartz, et al. v. Robet Fallah, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 601819/2022, Hon. Timothy S. Driscoll

Velocity Group USA, Inc. v. Adam Schwartz, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 603184/2023, Hon. Timothy S. Driscoll

Jagter Ricky Singh, et al. v. Ana Jain a/k/a Kalpana Krishna as
executor of The Estate Of Akhilesh Krishna, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 614007/2021, Hon. Timothy S. Driscoll

Nebari Natural Resources Credit Fund I, LP
v. Speyside Holdings LLC, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Suffolk County,
Index No. 616939/2021, Hon. James Hudson

Speyside Holdings LLC, et al.
v. Nebari Natural Resources Credit Fund I, LP, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Suffolk County,
Index No. 604646/2021, Hon. James Hudson

Preferred Construction, Inc., et al. v. Patriot Organization, Inc., et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Suffolk County,
Index No. 622609/2018, Hon. Elizabeth H. Emerson

Hudson Ferry Capital II, L.P. and Gemini Investors, et al.
v. Jeffrey Petersen, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 612560/2018, Hon. Timothy S. Driscoll

Astoria Generating Company, L.P.
v. Riley Power, Inc. and Jack Heckman Tube Company,
New York Supreme Court, Queens County,
Index No. 702521/2014, Hon. Marguerite A. Grays

Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, et al. v. AT&T Corp, et. al.,
New York Supreme Court, New York County,
Index No. 653090/2013, Hon. Joel M. Cohen

Brad W. Cronin v. Laureen C. Harris, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 022697/2010, Hon. Timothy S. Driscoll

Next Millennium Realty, LLC, et.al.
v. Travelers Casualty and Surety Company, et.al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 600996/2016, Hon. Sharon M. J. Gianelli

Archstone f/k/a Archstone-Smith Operating Trust and Tishman
Speyer Archstone-Smith, L.P. f/k/a ASN Roosevelt Center, LLC, et
al. v. Tocci Building Corporation of New Jersey, Inc., et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 001018/2008, Hon. Vito M DeStefano

QBE Insurance Corp. v. Adjo Contracting Corp., et. al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 601695/2009, Hon. Vito M DeStefano

Baker, Sanders, Barshay, Grossman, Fass,
Muhlstock & Neuwirth, LLC v. Comprehensive
Mental Assessment & Medical Care, P.C., et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 16008/2007, Hon. Vito M DeStefano

Sperry Associates Federal Credit Union
v. GS Assets, LLC a/k/a GS Assets, LLC, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Suffolk County,
Index No. 12-01808, Hon. Elizabeth H. Emerson

QK Healthcare, Inc. v. Insource, Inc. and Henry Schein, Inc.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 12950/2010, Hon. Timothy S. Driscoll

Leonard Spodek a/k/a/ Leonard Spodek v. Charles Neiss,
individually and as executor of the Estate of Bencion Neiss, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 32644/1996, Hon. Stephen A. Bucaria

Delta Funding Residual Exchange Company, LLC
v. Delta Financial Corporation, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 011118/2003, Hon. Ira B Warshawsky

Appointments as Receiver in the below-referenced matters:

Igal Khorshidi v. Brookhill Capital Partners, LLC, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 602204/2023, Hon. Jerome C. Murphy

Mauricio Cardenas and Magna Yasmin Cardenas
v. Robertino Restrepo and Jennifer Restrepo, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 605658/2022, Hon. Timothy S. Driscoll

Jay Schwartzberg and 4 Park Lane LLC v. Hezi Torati, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 614845/2020, Hon. James P. McCormack

Yossef Hazut v. Hezi Torati, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 606866/2020, Hon. James P. McCormack

Flushing Savings Bank, FSB v. 197 Franklin Square, LLC, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 5002/2012, Hon. Timothy S. Driscoll

In the Matter of the Application of Fred Koenig for the Dissolution
of Mel Sobel Microscopes Ltd. v. Steven Koenig,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 14028/2009, Hon. Timothy S. Driscoll

U.S. Bank National Association v. CLK-HP 90 Merrick LLC, et al.,
New York Supreme Court, Nassau County,
Index No. 601458/2017, Hon. Vito M DeStefano

GWG MCA Capital, Inc. v. NuLook Capital, LLC, et al.,
United States District Court, Eastern District of New York,
Civil Action No. 17-CV-1724 (ADS)(GRB), Hon. Arthur D. Spatt