Robert G. Wilk

Robert G. Wilk concentrates on commercial real estate and banking litigation, on all phases of loan default resolution, from restructuring to foreclosure, and in the liquidation of distressed assets. He focuses on advising and representing financial institutions and private investors. Mr. Wilk counsels clients and negotiates the creative resolution of commercial loan defaults through workouts, deed-in-lieu conveyances, modifications, loan sales, and bid assignments. He aggressively prosecutes actions to enforce guarantees and to foreclose mortgages and Article 9 security interests.

He advises and counsels court appointed receivers regarding rent collection from commercial properties. He also represents clients at hearings and in appeals in commercial litigation, real estate litigation, and bankruptcy matters. In addition, Mr. Wilk represents clients in real estate acquisition and real estate financing transactions.

In the recent past, Mr. Wilk successfully:

• represented a national financial institution in the negotiation and closing of a $43 million loan restructuring, a loan that was secured by a mortgage on property improved by a Manhattan high-rise containing 290 apartments, commercial, and retail space and was on the cusp of a default due to the maturity of the indebtedness;
• represented a noted New Yorker in the conveyance of luxury mid-town manhattan and nationwide real estate investment assets;
• represented a large European bank in a $178 million restructuring of a multi-state portfolio of commercial mortgage real estate loans;
• represented one of the largest U.S. mortgage loan servicers in a high profile, heavily contested mortgage foreclosure action in New York State Supreme Court, using "first impression" arguments to win a Motion to confirm the proceedings;
• represented a national financing provider as purchaser of $36 million of tax-exempt bonds, with proceeds being used by a not-for-profit entity to construct a 188-bed assisted living and memory care facility, a recreation facility for residents, and a guest house for visitors;
• obtained the dismissal of an action brought against one of the northeast's largest banks by another financial institution seeking indemnification and money damages arising out of the negotiation and deposit of a $400,000.00 check into a customer's business checking account;
• represented National Asset Loan Management Limited, a subsidiary of Ireland's National Asset Management Agency, in the New York Supreme Court and obtained the entry of a $364 million judgment against an Irish developer, which was based on a judgment originally granted by the Irish High Court;
• counseled a large European bank in workout negotiations, resulting in the refinancing of an existing $126 million mortgage loan on a Class A, architecturally noted office building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC;
• advised an international business company as lender's counsel in connection with the closing of an extension and modification to an existing $168 million loan that provided financing for the acquisition and assemblage of 11 mid-town Manhattan fee parcels, the air rights appurtenant to 14 additional parcels and the pre-construction planning and development for the International Gem Tower;
• served as counsel to National Asset Management Agency (NAMA, Ireland) in a significant victory in the New York Supreme Court regarding NAMA's efforts to enforce a €270 million ($351 million) Irish court judgment against an Irish developer's U.S.-based assets;
• advised a financial institution through politically sensitive and media intensive contested foreclosure actions that resulted in a note sale of a $30 million loan portfolio secured by mortgages covering nineteen apartment buildings in New York City;
• negotiated a workout resulting in conveyance of title in a Long Island office building to an insurance company and full payment to the company of sums due pursuant to a payment guarantee to satisfy a $22 million debt;
• demonstrated "special circumstances" to a New York Appellate Court that allowed an insurance company's simultaneous foreclosure and money judgment actions to proceed, triggering the borrowers and guarantors to initiate settlement, satisfying a $17 million debt;
• represented a financial institution in a contested foreclosure action of a mortgage covering a Rochester townhouse community and related bankruptcy proceedings resulting in a note sale that satisfied a $9 million debt;
• represented a national financial institution in obtaining complete monetary recovery on an $8.9 million defaulted loan secured by a mortgage which covered property improved by a high-rise apartment building in the New York metropolitan area containing over two hundred residential units, including subsidized housing;
• represented one of the largest U.S. mortgage loan servicers in an action in federal court to foreclose a mortgage on the primary residence of a noted New Yorker, resulting in swift resolution of the borrower's default on terms favorable to our client;
• represented a noted restaurateur in a financing transaction with the operator of a Manhattan restaurant, including handling the negotiation and preparation of loan documents and corporate approvals; and
• advised a major New York real estate developer as its litigation counsel to facilitate the purchase of several adjoining parcels of land in New York' City's Midtown South being assembled for residential and retail development.

Reported Cases

• Citigroup Global Markets v Infante (N.Y. Supreme Queens) (N.Y.L.J. 3/26/2013)
• Chase Manhattan Bank v. Leacock, 154 A.D.2d 646 (2d Dept. 1989)
• Elysian Federal Savings Bank v. Tednick Corporation, 1994 WL 591832 (U.S.D.C. N.D.N.Y.)
• First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Rochester v. Mirabello, 247 A.D.2d 363 (2d Dept. 1998)
• Flushing Savings Bank v. Tag Pipe, Inc., 236 A.D.2d 510 (2d Dept. 1997)
• Green Point Savings Bank v. 794 Utica Avenue Realty Corp., 261 A.D.2d 509 (2d Dept. 1999)
• Investors Warranty of America, Inc. v. Maclara, LLC, 2010 WL 1292335, N.Y.A.D. 2 Dept., 2010
• Investors Warranty of America, Inc. v. Maclara, LLC, 2010 WL 3003686, N.Y.A.D. 2 Dept., 2010
• Jagel Family Associates v. Havenbrook Associates, 209 A.D.2d 585 (2d Dept. 1994)
• Jagel Family Associates v. Havenbrook Associates, 209 A.D.2d 584 (2d Dept. 1994)
• Liberty Savings Bank, FSB v. Knab, 281 A.D.2d 602 (2d Dept. 2001)
• Norstar Bank v. LNP Realty Corp., 216 A.D.2d 279 (2d Dept. 1995)

Authored

• "Reinstatement of Accelerated Commercial Mortgage Loans" (New Jersey Law Journal, March 14, 2013)
• "Reinstatement of Accelerated Mortgage Loans: An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure," a Windels Marx real estate publication (August 21, 2012)

Memberships & Professional Affiliations

• American Bar Association - Member
• Suffolk Academy of Law - Advisory Committee Member, Former Officer (2006-2010)
• International Institute of Space Law of the International Astronautical Federation - Member

Mr. Wilk has been a frequent lecturer to bar and business groups, including:

• New York State Bar Association,
• Nassau County Bar Association,
• Suffolk County Bar Association,
• the National Business Institute, Inc., and
• CAPRATE Events LLC,

He served as a member of the Moot Court Board while attending Hofstra University School of Law.