Attorney Ethan Andrew Brecher's Legal Cases

Divorce and separation

Efron v. Efron, 234 A.D.3d 542 (1st Dep't 2025)

Jan 16, 2025

OUTCOME: Unanimous reversal on appeal; order appointing receiver to sell client's home vacated and opposing motion denied in its entirety.

Represented the plaintiff-wife on appeal from an order that directed appointment of a third-party receiver to sell the marital residence, charged her 100% of the receiver's fee, and assessed counsel fe ... es against her. Argued that the motion court exceeded the parties' so-ordered stipulation, which required only cooperation on a listing agreement and contained no material price terms authorizing a court-ordered sale, and that the husband had shown no irreparable loss justifying the drastic remedy of a receiver. The First Department unanimously agreed on the law and the facts, noting the husband's own refusal to countersign the listing agreement and his outstanding arrears, rejected his request to dismiss the appeal, and denied his motion in full. All fee awards against the client were eliminated.

Contracts and agreements

Narain v Society Pass, 234 A.D. 3d 494 (1st' Dept 2025)

Jan 09, 2025

OUTCOME: The firm's client secured a Judgment of $1,082,078.91

Ethan Brecher represented a former executive of Society Pass Inc. in a Commercial Division action to enforce a common stock purchase warrant for 130 shares of the company's stock and to recover unpaid ... salary. The company argued the warrant was subsumed by the client's employment agreement and disputed the value of the warrant shares. Mr. Brecher moved for summary judgment before Justice Andrew Borrok, relying in part on the company CEO's own repeated admissions about the value of the shares, and then defended the resulting judgment of $1,082,072.91.

Contracts and agreements

Xiaoyan Lu v. Sagewood SFF III LLC (1st Dep't 2024)

Nov 26, 2024

OUTCOME: Judgement of $895,000 (Inclusive of Interest)

Ethan Brecher represented investors whose funds had been embezzled by the co-manager of a private fund. Rather than disclose the theft, the fund's managers repeatedly told the investors their money had ... been "rolled over" into a successor fund, and even issued K-1s to the IRS identifying them as members of that fund. Mr. Brecher moved for partial summary judgment declaring his clients full members of the successor fund on theories of equitable estoppel and tax estoppel. The defendants appealed and lost. 232 A.D.3d 549.

Contracts and agreements

O'Connor v. Society Pass Inc., 233 A.D.3d 139 (1st Dep't 2024)

Oct 17, 2024

OUTCOME: First Department affirmed summary judgment on client's right to 1,148 shares; after a valuation hearing and bench trial, final judgment entered for $11,853,490.11.

Represented Thomas O'Connor, a former chief marketing officer who sued tech start-up Society Pass for refusing to honor a common stock purchase warrant after terminating him. The company argued the war ... rant was integrated into his employment agreement so that alleged covenant breaches excused performance. Won partial summary judgment in the Commercial Division and defended it on appeal. In a signed opinion by Justice Oing that opened with "a deal is a deal," the First Department held that the warrant was a stand-alone, enforceable contract supported by consideration; that it modified the equity terms of the employment agreement and eliminated the KPI requirement; and that neither the employment agreement's covenants nor its no-waiver clause could defeat the client's right to 1,148 shares. After a 10-day valuation hearing, those shares were valued at $5,763 per share, for a total of $6,615,924. Following a bench trial, Mr. O'Connor was awarded an additional 143 shares worth $834,109. Together with interest, the court entered judgment in his favor of $11,853,490.11. See O'Connor v. Soc'y Pass Inc., 233 A.D.3d 139, 221 N.Y.S.3d 46 (1st Dep't 2024).

Employment and labor

Gherardi v. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (11th Cir. 2020)

Sep 17, 2020

OUTCOME: Approximately $4 million FINRA Arbitration Award

After Ethan Brecher won a nearly $4 million FINRA award for a Miami financial advisor, Citigroup persuaded the district court to vacate the $3,452,000 wrongful termination portion on the theory that, b ... ecause the client was an at-will employee, the arbitrators had exceeded their powers under § 10(a)(4) of the Federal Arbitration Act. Mr. Brecher, with co-counsel Jeffrey B. Crockett and Scott A. Hiaasen, appealed to the Eleventh Circuit .975 F.3d 1232.The Eleventh Circuit reversed in a published opinion and restored the full award. The court held that because the parties agreed to arbitrate all employment-related disputes and the arbitrators at least arguably construed the contract—including its anti-retaliation provision—the award had to stand regardless of whether a court would have reached the same result. "Citi does not get a mulligan in federal court," the court wrote, and "must now live with the results." The decision is a leading authority on the limits of judicial review of arbitration awards.

Contracts and agreements

Loren v. Sarachek (1st Dep't 2019)

Mar 07, 2019

OUTCOME: A Judgment of Approximately $900,000 on a Promissory Note

Ethan Brecher represented the holder of a promissory note that required monthly interest payments and was personally guaranteed by the borrower's principal. After the borrower defaulted and the guarant ... or refused to pay, Mr. Brecher moved for summary judgment. The trial court denied the motion, crediting the defense that the client had waived her rights by not demanding interest payments before declaring a default. Mr. Brecher appealed. 170 A.D.3d 447. The First Department unanimously reversed, held that the note and personal guarantee were clear and unambiguous and that the client's forbearance was not a waiver, granted summary judgment, and directed the Clerk to enter judgment for the client, with costs.

Ethan Andrew Brecher's Legal Cases (6)

Efron v. Efron, 234 A.D.3d 542 (1st Dep't 2025)

Narain v Society Pass, 234 A.D. 3d 494 (1st' Dept 2025)

Xiaoyan Lu v. Sagewood SFF III LLC (1st Dep't 2024)

O'Connor v. Society Pass Inc., 233 A.D.3d 139 (1st Dep't 2024)

Gherardi v. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (11th Cir. 2020)

Loren v. Sarachek (1st Dep't 2019)