Rita Mella

Joined two other lawyers in urging Dominican immigrants to pursue U.S. citizenship to obtain voting rights and reduce exposure to deportation, in remarks reported by Hoy.

August 21, 2006Supports Civil Rights

Source: hoy.com.do

Mella received Eleanor Roosevelt Independent Democrats' endorsement for New York County Surrogate in the 2026 election cycle.

October 20, 2026

Source: erid.nyc

Received Broadway Democrats’s endorsement for New York County Surrogate in the 2026 election cycle.

October 20, 2026

Source: broadwaydemocrats.org

Received Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club’s endorsement for New York County Surrogate in the 2026 election cycle.

October 20, 2026

Source: jimowles.org

Received Hell’s Kitchen Democrats’s endorsement for New York County Surrogate in the 2026 election cycle.

October 20, 2026

Source: hkdems.org

Mella published a courtroom policy encouraging knowledgeable lawyers historically underrepresented in Surrogate's Court practice, including less senior lawyers, to take speaking roles and argue applications.

October 20, 2026

Source: nycourts.gov

Served on New York's Surrogate's Court Advisory Committee, which reviewed laws and court rules concerning estate administration, guardianships and adoptions.

October 20, 2026

Source: nycourts.gov

Mella welcomed Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission interns and student aides into her courtroom and shared insights about judicial work during the commission's 2025 internship programs.

October 20, 2026

Source: nycourts.gov

Received Lexington Democratic Club’s endorsement for New York County Surrogate in the 2026 election cycle.

October 20, 2026

Source: lexclub.org

Received Grand Street Democrats’s endorsement for New York County Surrogate in the 2026 election cycle.

March 1, 2026

Source: grandstreetdems.nyc

Received Downtown Independent Democrats’s endorsement for New York County Surrogate in the 2026 election cycle.

February 18, 2026

Source: didnyc.org

Received Three Parks Independent Democrats’s endorsement for New York County Surrogate in the 2026 election cycle.

February 18, 2026

Source: threeparksdems.org

Received Village Independent Democrats’s endorsement for New York County Surrogate in the 2026 election cycle.

February 17, 2026

Source: villagedemocrats.org

Mella served on the board of Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert, a nonprofit focused on breast-cancer awareness and access to screening for low-income women.

September 27, 2025

Source: unphu.edu.do

Mella served as chair of the Dominican Women's Development Center's board of directors.

June 12, 2025

Source: dwdc.org

Mella and AABANY's Trusts and Estates Committee helped deliver a two-day guardian ad litem training intended to expand minority attorneys' participation in New York courts. More than 60 people attended.

October 1, 2024

Source: blog.aabany.org

Received UNPHU’s Distinguished Alumna recognition for professional work, community commitment and contributions to the Dominican community abroad.

March 7, 2024

Source: unphu.edu.do

Mella participated in the Dominican Studies Association's panel on diversity and Dominicans in New York's judiciary.

December 5, 2020

Source: dominicanstudiesassociation.org

Mella served on the Surrogate Court Volunteers steering committee that created public and lawyer information portals and volunteer training for low-income families handling small estates after COVID-19 deaths.

July 22, 2020

Source: nysba.org

Served on the statewide Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Committee listed in its February 2019 interim report on court-sponsored mediation.

February 12, 2019

Source: webfiles.nycourts.gov

Served on the Richard C. Failla LGBTQ Commission, as documented in its dated submission concerning court-system nondiscrimination rules.

August 29, 2017

Source: nycourts.gov

Organized trusts-and-estates training courses and hosted student interns to expand access for students and communities underrepresented in that legal field, according to a CUNY Dominican Studies Institute interview.

September 17, 2015

Source: ccny.cuny.edu

The New York Times and El Diario/La Prensa endorsed Mella in the 2012 Democratic primary for Manhattan Surrogate.

September 14, 2012

Source: diariolibre.com

Danilo Medina and Francisco Domínguez Brito publicly supported Mella in the 2012 race for Manhattan Surrogate.

September 14, 2012

Source: diariolibre.com

Former Dominican president Hipólito Mejía endorsed Mella for Manhattan Surrogate and publicly urged Dominican New Yorkers to vote for her.

August 23, 2012

Source: eldia.com.do

Mella received endorsements from the Frederick E. Samuel Democratic Club, Audubon Democratic Club, and West Harlem Independent Democrats in the 2006 Civil Court election.

November 17, 2011

Source: cjc.ny.gov

Before moving to the United States, Mella worked in the education department of the Center for Feminist Research for Action in the Dominican Republic.

March 5, 2007

Source: diariolibre.com

Mella objected in writing to campaign literature that used her image without permission and gave the impression that The New York Times had endorsed both her and Shari Michels. She asked Michels and three clubs to stop distributing it.

November 5, 2006

Source: cjc.ny.gov

Mella received political support in the 2006 Civil Court race from Herman Farrell Jr., Adriano Espaillat, Eric Schneiderman, Miguel Martínez, and seven named district or state-committee leaders.

August 21, 2006

Source: hoy.com.do

The New York Times endorsed Mella in the 2006 Democratic primary for Manhattan Civil Court.

August 20, 2006

Source: hoy.com.do

Mella provided research assistance for Janet Calvo's article examining spouse-based immigration laws and their effects on abused immigrant women.

August 1, 1991

Source: niwaplibrary.wcl.american.edu

Resolved disputes over the Bejjani estate's $1.5 million settlement proceeds. Charged one objector's share $66,835.75 in legal fees for disproportionately burdensome litigation. The First Department affirmed and rejected an unsupported judicial-bias claim in 2025.

July 10, 2023Favorable on Impartiality

Source: nycourts.gov

Mella served as presiding judge of Manhattan Misdemeanor Treatment Court in 2009, which supervised substance-use treatment as an alternative to jail for eligible repeat misdemeanor defendants.

October 20, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Mella published a dispute-resolution plan for her court that made contested matters presumptively eligible for early settlement procedures, excluded domestic-violence cases and several other categories, and required roster mediators to provide two free hours.

October 20, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Enjoined completion of a foreclosure sale of John Wright’s cooperative apartment, expanded the preliminary executor’s authority to market the apartment with proceeds held in escrow, and restricted the administrator’s authority after a previously undisclosed will surfaced.

September 4, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Removed Lynne Boyarsky as the Sandler estate's preliminary executor and appointed a replacement. Her personal apartment claim and failure to protect the estate showed misunderstanding of her duties. Preserved limited authority for her separate asset-recovery claim.

August 25, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Ordered adverse-inference jury instructions against trustee Richard Kay for lost emails in Radio Drama Network's trust case. Barred specified estate-planning testimony but declined to strike his defenses or impose monetary sanctions.

July 10, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed a request for trusteeship over a purported Dinshaw charitable trust because the petitioner lacked standing and India was the appropriate forum for the dispute.

May 15, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Ordered Fidelity National Financial to turn over $500,000 in escrowed condominium-sale proceeds plus earned interest to the Yook Fong estate after the estate-tax release condition was satisfied, and rejected a former preliminary executor's effort to quash the proceeding.

May 4, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed most grounds for forfeiting Ellen Goodman's trust inheritance, including her enforcement lawsuit and objections to uncertified payments. Allowed the claim concerning her alleged attempt to reduce another beneficiary's bequest to proceed.

April 10, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Settled most of the Walder estate account, preserved a hearing on one law firm’s fees, and refused outright distribution of a daughter’s share without a proper application addressing the will’s supplemental-needs trust.

April 10, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Allowed renewal of a preliminary executor's summary-judgment motion in the Lydia Sandler estate after considering additional bank records and admissions, but denied summary judgment because disputed reimbursement claims required a trial on the alleged misappropriation of about $172,000.

April 9, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Rejected a separated spouse's inheritance claim and probate objections under her estate-rights waiver in Matter of Yan. Dismissed the son's unsupported objections but preserved a trial over conflicting evidence about the will's signing.

January 20, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Ordered genetic testing of Frederick Eversley’s brother after finding the requested testing reasonable and practicable for a woman seeking to establish her status as Eversley’s daughter.

January 20, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Preserved an undue-influence objection to Fred Mengoni's will for trial while dismissing unsupported capacity, execution and fraud objections, and deferred a challenge to the beneficiary's bequest based on her spouse's role as a witness until the will's validity was resolved.

October 10, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Surcharged the Meehan estate administrator $10,500 for unsupported legal fees, credited her waived commissions against that amount, and required reimbursement of the remaining $850.30, while declining an interest surcharge for administration delays.

October 8, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Held that the adopted children of a trust’s lifetime beneficiary qualified as her issue and directed equal distribution of the remainder to them. Relied on evidence that the grantor intended to include them despite the older statutory precautionary addendum.

October 8, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied repeated requests for criminal referrals against trustees and their lawyer in the Regenstein Living Trust accounting, finding the allegations unsupported. Required prior court approval for further filings alleging misconduct by those participants in that trust proceeding.

October 7, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Mella taught at Boricua College and served as an adjunct instructor at CUNY School of Law.

September 27, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: unphu.edu.do

Dismissed the fraud objection to Lilian Reich's will but kept undue influence for trial. The Appellate Division dismissed undue influence too in March 2026. It found insufficient evidence of control over her or interference with her estate plan.

August 20, 2025Unfavorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied a motion to dismiss the Agiovlasitis destroyed-will petition or strike a witness’s affidavit, holding that the pleaded statutory requirements were sufficient and credibility issues required further proceedings.

July 16, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied requests to seal estate-tax material and legal-fee submissions in Seymour Reich’s elective-share proceeding. Found the claimed confidentiality and competitive harm insufficient to overcome public access to the basis for court-approved estate expenses.

July 11, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed a surviving spouse’s probate objections in Matter of Stern after enforcing his prenuptial waiver of estate rights and finding no triable issue of duress or overreaching. Denied the executors’ request for fees and costs because it lacked supporting documentation.

July 10, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed objections to JPMorgan Chase’s trust accounting after an eight-day trial in Matter of JPMorgan Chase Bank (Waletzky-Rockefeller), finding the evidence did not establish inadequate records, imprudent diversification, or self-dealing in its management of a Rockefeller family trust.

July 3, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed objections to the nominated executor of Alicia Knapp’s estate, finding no evidence of a statutory disqualification, and directed admission of the will to probate.

May 20, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Required the Korn estate executor to pay statutory post-decision interest at 9% on an improperly allocated sale premium, rejected payment of that interest from a separate marital trust, and directed settlement of the accounting decree.

May 20, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied a trustee's request for summary judgment invalidating revocation of the Lydia Sandler Trust and declaring the trustee the owner of a cooperative apartment, finding insufficient grounds to resolve the disputed trust and property rights without a trial.

May 16, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

After a five-day bench trial, ruled that Jeanette Ingberman had not validly given her inherited business interests or related income interests to her brother, sustaining six objections to the Helen Ingberman estate account while leaving other objections unresolved.

April 11, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Allocated a $1.75 million Fernandez estate settlement to wrongful death and authorized $600,000 in partial distributions to four beneficiaries while retaining the remaining funds in escrow during guardianship proceedings.

April 11, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Granted summary judgment admitting Sandra Stevenson’s will after dismissing capacity and undue-influence objections. Found sufficient evidence of testamentary capacity and independent intent in the uncontested motion record.

April 10, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed unsupported objections to the Sternklar estate accounts. Kept specific disputes over assets, transactions and professional fees for trial.

March 25, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Granted partial summary judgment establishing a lost will’s execution and contents, but reserved revocation for trial. Denied the competing motion to reject the will, finding unresolved factual questions about the missing original.

March 4, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied Hubert Neumann summary judgment declaring sole ownership of two cooperative apartments by survivorship, finding disputed evidence about the timing and authorization of handwritten survivorship language required a trial.

January 21, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied summary judgment appointing a brother as administrator of Gela Kline's estate because the evidence did not reliably establish whether her spouse survived her by the 120 hours required for inheritance.

January 14, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Limited the Murrell estate’s nominated executor from representing the estate in litigation she brought against it, appointed a separate administrator for that case, and required a $300,000 bond.

December 30, 2024Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed a demand to recover trustee commissions in the Chen estate. The Appellate Division reversed in November 2025. It held that alleged disloyalty supported recovery even without other trust losses.

October 17, 2024Unfavorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Granted the estate of Jean Kennedy Smith judgment on two unpaid promissory notes totaling $2.72 million in principal in O’Byrne v Smith. Applied 1.18% compounded interest until June 30, 2022, followed by 6% simple interest, rejecting the executors’ request for earlier default-rate compounding.

October 15, 2024Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied a beneficiary's request for a judicial trust accounting after finding that extensive informal accounts and supporting records had already been provided and that she identified no breach or specific missing information requiring a formal account.

October 11, 2024Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Ordered the Glassman estate’s fiduciary to complete the estate accounting process and file formal accounts for two trusts after finding that informal records did not address the beneficiary’s concerns about commissions and legal fees.

October 11, 2024Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied limited administration authority to challenge three property sales, finding insufficient grounds to treat the proposed litigation as a reasonable use of estate assets or the executor’s refusal to sue as unreasonable.

October 7, 2024Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed a trustee's attempt to forfeit Himan Brown's granddaughters' personal bequests based on their challenge to trust amendments on behalf of Radio Drama Network, holding that actions in their corporate fiduciary capacities did not trigger the no-contest clause.

October 3, 2024Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Ordered the Irving Kagan estate's administrator to account, declined to authorize a creditor's judgment collection without proof protecting other creditors, and denied immediate removal or suspension because the disputed allegations showed no present harm requiring that remedy.

July 12, 2024Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied summary judgment against the Marino estate executor over tax decisions, management fees, and commissions because factual disputes remained, and barred further residuary distributions on the parties’ agreement pending consent or court order.

June 25, 2024Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed objections to Evangeline Moravec’s will and directed probate, finding that witness evidence established proper execution and capacity and that undue-influence and fraud allegations were speculative.

June 18, 2024Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed a displaced fiduciary’s challenge to George Kaufman’s trust amendment and denied probate discovery after finding no good cause beyond his lost commissions. The First Department affirmed that ruling and the later probate decree in May 2026.

June 11, 2024Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Granted summary judgment admitting Andrew Robinson’s will after dismissing the undue-influence objection, finding that the evidence reflected his independent estate-planning decisions and that the opposing allegations failed to establish a triable issue.

April 30, 2024Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed some objections to the Alan H. Goodman trust accounts. Kept investment, expense, compensation and reserve disputes for trial. The First Department affirmed the challenged dismissals in September 2025.

April 12, 2024Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Approved a temporary administrator’s resignation in the Buhannic estate and appointed the decedent’s daughter and a New York attorney to serve jointly with the preliminary executor. Replaced attorney-consent restrictions on escrowed stock proceeds with joint fiduciary control, while retaining restrictions on disposing of estate assets.

April 12, 2024Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed objections to Sam Shapiro’s will and directed its admission to probate after finding that witnesses established capacity and proper execution and that relatives offered no nonspeculative evidence of undue influence.

April 9, 2024Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed a challenge to the exercise of an exclusive appointment power over the Jean Kennedy Smith residence trust, holding that the power did not require equal treatment of all permissible beneficiaries. Reserved remaining fiduciary and fee disputes for the accounting.

February 9, 2024Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied Hubert Neumann’s request to require the estate executor to maintain $7,011,227 pending trial of his elective-share claim, finding he had not established the requirements for preliminary injunctive relief.

November 28, 2023Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied summary removal or suspension of the Bellamy estate’s executor because disputed facts remained about impartiality, administration expenses and the proposed transfer of a cooperative apartment to a beneficiary’s trust. Denied the executor’s request for sanctions.

November 3, 2023Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

After a fee trial, reduced an estate lawyer's requested $50,860 in legal fees to $30,000 for excessive and insufficiently detailed time charges, disallowed $630 in unauthorized deposition expenses, and ordered payment of the remaining $7,089.96 plus interest.

October 10, 2023Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed most remaining Scott estate turnover claims but preserved an unjust-enrichment claim over a $190,000 payment because the recipients lacked admissible evidence establishing its purpose.

July 13, 2023Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Declared an absentee legally dead after finding evidence of a diligent search and unexplained absence sufficient to satisfy the statutory presumption, and authorized estate administration. Fixed the presumed death date as January 2, 2021.

July 13, 2023Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed objections to the Reuben Hoppenstein 2005 Trust accounts because the objectors had been validly excluded as beneficiaries. Found their improper-motive claim unsupported. The First Department affirmed the accounting and discharge decree in 2024.

July 11, 2023Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Resolved disputes over the Bejjani estate's $1.5 million settlement proceeds. Charged one objector's share $66,835.75 in legal fees for disproportionately burdensome litigation. The First Department affirmed and rejected an unsupported judicial-bias claim in 2025.

July 10, 2023Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Settled a former trustee’s account in Matter of Jakab (Lasdon), dismissing objections to statutory commissions and specified report and accounting expenses, while reducing requested legal fees from $411,479.45 to $335,971.

July 10, 2023Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Admitted Dolores Neumann’s will to probate after a jury trial rejected the undue-influence challenge. The Appellate Division affirmed in October 2024, upholding the jury instructions, evidentiary ruling and sufficiency of the evidence supporting the unequal bequests.

May 24, 2023Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Preserved the undue-influence objection to Sy Syms’s will for trial while dismissing capacity, execution, fraud and duress objections. Held the nominated executor’s fitness challenge in abeyance pending the probate trial.

May 5, 2023Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied a request to compel a second formal accounting of the Kenan trust for 2002–2016 after finding the beneficiary had already received detailed financial records and another accounting imposed expense without additional benefit.

April 12, 2023Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Ruled that a stepdaughter's 19% residuary share under Lloyd McAulay's will was payable without reduction for California real estate that passed to her outside the estate by survivorship; enforced the unambiguous will and rejected the other beneficiaries' request to alter its terms.

February 23, 2023Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Ordered a co-executor who controlled the Lois Block estate's funds and had not distributed its primary asset to file an account, while waiving an unnecessary accounting by the inactive co-executor who was the estate's sole beneficiary.

January 9, 2023Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied a beneficiary's request to stop trustees from managing a real-estate trust and appoint a temporary receiver, finding insufficient proof of irreparable harm or misconduct that endangered trust assets.

October 25, 2022Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Approved the Johnson estate account involving a $250,000 negligence recovery and reduced unsupported expenses and legal fees. Directed three equal inheritances, including a pooled trust for a beneficiary with a disability.

October 14, 2022Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed Andrew Duell's trust-accounting objections, rejecting claims for unpaid commissions, management fees and additional assets. The Appellate Division affirmed the resulting account settlements in March 2024.

April 6, 2022Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied both sides’ summary-judgment motions over a joint bank account, finding unresolved evidence about whether the decedent intended survivorship ownership or an account maintained only for convenience.

April 5, 2022Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed an undue-influence objection to the Dorris will and directed probate, finding no material evidence that its beneficiary overrode the testator’s wishes; the Appellate Division affirmed in May 2022.

July 13, 2021Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Enforced an agreement requiring a preliminary executor to place $55.5 million in escrow in Matter of Rosen, rejecting his argument that his own failure to fund the escrow invalidated the agreement. The estate’s underlying disputed creditor claim remained unresolved.

July 12, 2021Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Held that disputed ivory carvings and other personal property belonged to the Ackerman estate and ordered equal distribution between its two beneficiary interests, rejecting an unsupported lifetime-gift claim.

July 2, 2021Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Appointed Andrew Brooks's adult daughters and the guardian of his minor daughter's property as temporary co-administrators, applying the surviving wife's prenuptial fiduciary waiver while the agreement's validity remained contested.

May 25, 2021Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed an estate’s claim that a cooperative board acted in bad faith by rejecting a share transfer to a marital trust, and denied a late amendment based on the board’s alleged dislike of the widow. Applied the business-judgment rule and found no supporting claim of improper discrimination.

April 20, 2021Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Disqualified a father from inheriting from his child’s estate in Matter of Lee for failure to support the child, applying prior Family Court findings of willful nonpayment and rejecting an attempt to relitigate those findings.

March 31, 2021Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Upheld an agreement giving the Judelson estate a 70% interest in cooperative-apartment shares, finding that the occupants ratified it by accepting its benefits, and dismissed their challenge.

October 30, 2020Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Ordered Linda Frock-Rohrbeck's former estate administrator to repay $60,116.03 plus 9% interest for unsupported payments after ignoring an accounting order. Declined an additional $557,000 charge without supporting proof.

October 16, 2020Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed objections to an executor’s account in Matter of Montalbano (Silverstein), rejecting claims that a surviving spouse owned all nonprobate assets acquired during the marriage. Applied beneficiary designations and the statutory elective share rather than postdeath equitable distribution.

October 14, 2020Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied a petition to recover Sylvia Tong’s transferred brokerage account after a two-day trial, finding insufficient evidence of a confidential relationship, reliance on an implied promise, or undue influence in the transfer to her son.

October 14, 2020Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Declined to exercise New York jurisdiction over an adult guardianship proceeding in favor of North Carolina after weighing the respondent's expressed preference, access to evidence, costs and the court's ability to supervise care.

October 1, 2020Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Suspended Keiko Ono Aoki as testamentary trustee pending a hearing after evidence of probable waste and mismanagement of trust assets. Later denied summary permanent removal, preserving a trial in the related accounting and removal proceedings, and rejected prejudgment attachment of personal assets for insufficient proof of fraudulent intent.

February 11, 2020Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Rejected Robert Korn's request to charge the Edith Korn estate or its executor for part of his legal fees. The work benefited his inheritance individually. The Appellate Division affirmed in February 2021.

January 9, 2020Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Refused to reopen an estate administrator's removal after DNA evidence excluded her claim of biological parentage. Rejected her excuse for failing to respond and her separate inheritance theory.

October 11, 2019Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Held that adopted children qualified as issue under the Swain testamentary trust because the testator’s plan showed an intent beyond bloodline beneficiaries. Also concluded that a predeceased alternate beneficiary’s interest lacked the required survivorship.

October 4, 2019Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Authorized a $500,000 inheritance advance to Belinda Neumann Donnelly after finding statutory financial-need and estate-asset requirements satisfied, conditioned on a repayment bond for the full advance.

August 30, 2019Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied competing summary-judgment motions over cooperative-apartment sale proceeds claimed by the estates of two life partners, finding that their respective contributions and gift intentions required trial.

April 23, 2019Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Declined to dismiss a petition to probate a Chi-Chuan Wang codicil after a jury had invalidated the later will for fraud and undue influence; the Appellate Division reversed in January 2020, holding that the earlier jury findings barred the codicil petition.

April 16, 2019Unfavorable on Legal Competence

Source: law.justia.com

Construed Rocky Aoki’s will to permit beneficiaries to investigate a trustee’s administration and seek suspension or removal without forfeiting their bequests under its no-contest clause. Held that its business-acts immunity provision did not bar court scrutiny of the trustee’s conduct.

April 12, 2019Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Allowed a petition to revoke Yien-Koo Wang King's preliminary letters in the Chi-Chuan Wang estate to proceed and limited her authority to prosecuting an existing federal racketeering action while the removal petition remained pending.

February 11, 2019Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Applied an earlier Nassau County judgment invalidating an estate plan for undue influence in Matter of Kronik, preventing objectors from relying on that plan’s revocation clause against a 1976 will. Denied immediate probate without prejudice because other objections remained.

January 28, 2019Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Ordered Apple to assist an estate executor in accessing the decedent’s stored photographs, treating those images as digital assets distinct from protected electronic-communication content under the applicable access statutes.

January 14, 2019Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed objections to Stephen John Menchini’s will and directed probate after finding sufficient proof of its execution and no evidence supporting alleged page substitution or forgery.

November 20, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s petition concerning assigned shares in a French property partnership, finding that the agency lacked standing in the estate and that its ownership dispute with a living person fell outside Surrogate’s Court jurisdiction.

October 12, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Retained New York jurisdiction over Andrew Bronsky's probate proceeding despite a competing Arizona filing, dismissed the jurisdictional objections and directed probate without deciding the decedent's domicile.

October 12, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Interpreted 'net estate' in the Pozsonyi separation agreement as probate assets minus debts, funeral costs and administration expenses before estate taxes. Excluded nonprobate assets and reserved valuation and other claims for an accounting.

October 12, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Required a trial on Patricia Penick's will because witness accounts conflicted with medical evidence that she was nonverbal. The decision was affirmed on appeal. Competing probate petitions remained unresolved in Mella's April 2026 ruling.

October 12, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Canceled a $462,546.18 estate-tax deficiency in Matter of Seiden (Hogan). The applicable statute did not require this marital trust's inclusion in the surviving spouse's taxable estate.

October 9, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Reduced the Falk estate attorney’s requested fees from $166,307.50 to $110,543.40 and ordered a refund, finding excessive time, duplicated work, and charges for nonlegal executor tasks.

September 7, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed objections to administration of an estate in Matter of Karp after no petition to probate a missing 1995 will was filed, finding the objectors lacked standing to challenge the proposed administrator and that no statutory disqualification was established.

August 6, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed probate objections in Matter of Couloumbis and denied the objector’s competing motion to reject the will, finding the proof did not establish a triable issue of incapacity, improper execution, fraud or undue influence.

July 25, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Authorized a $2.5 million advance from Seymour Reich’s estate toward Lilian Reich’s disputed elective share to meet estate-tax obligations, conditioned on a full refunding bond. Reserved the ultimate validity of the elective-share claim.

July 18, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Protected requests for an executor's accounting and investigation from an inheritance-forfeiture clause. Held that seeking suspension solely for alleged predeath conduct triggered forfeiture. Left a hypothetical later removal claim undecided.

May 8, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Ordered a surviving spouse to leave an estate-controlled apartment by January 2019 and allow reasonable access. Her inheritance claim gave her no right to occupy that particular asset. Denied the executors' legal-cost request.

May 8, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

After a hearing, found Kwame Seku was Winston Bright, revoked letters based on Bright’s presumed death prospectively, and left previously vested property rights undisturbed.

April 13, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

After trial, awarded William Koeppel's former lawyers $3,412,693.21 plus interest and a charging lien on the Whitehouse property sale proceeds under their retainer agreement, based on the settlement value he obtained or retained.

April 13, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Allowed fraud and related claims over Sidney Cooper's alleged gift of a liquor business to proceed. Combined the damages lawsuit with the estate's effort to recover assets.

April 13, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Ordered release of $20,000 held under a trust beneficiary’s settlement agreement, holding that the escrow agent lacked discretion to withhold the funds based on concerns outside that agreement. Denied sanctions and surcharge relief.

April 13, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Ordered posthumous genetic testing using a September 11 victim’s available DNA material to evaluate a claimed child’s inheritance standing. Reserved the ultimate parentage and inheritance determination.

April 13, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed an estate administrator's challenge to retirement and insurance beneficiary designations. The estate lacked an interest supporting its right to sue or the Surrogate's Court's authority. Allowed the insurance claim to be brought elsewhere.

April 12, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Ordered approximately $2 million in Durcan retirement-account proceeds returned to the estate because no signed beneficiary designation existed for the new accounts, despite testimony about the decedent’s intended beneficiary.

April 11, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed objections to Sydney Fields’s will and directed probate, finding that witness and medical evidence supported capacity and execution and that claims of forgery and undue influence lacked proof.

March 20, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Preserved the undue-influence objection to Carol Singer’s later will for trial while dismissing objections based on execution, capacity, fraud and duress. The ruling left the competing probate petitions unresolved.

January 17, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed an ancillary estate's claim over fees retained by an Indian fiduciary, concluding that India was the appropriate forum to determine whether those fees were proper or owed back.

January 17, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Reduced the Smulyan estate executor’s requested legal fees from $182,431.20 to $85,755 because much of the claimed work was executorial, and disallowed an unsupported $350 accounting charge.

January 17, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Enforced prior rulings protecting adopted beneficiaries' trust rights by holding trustees in contempt for pursuing prohibited Texas declarations, imposing a $250 fine and costs while preserving Texas's authority to decide the adoptions' validity.

January 12, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Approved division of the Warnecke trust along two family lines to accommodate different beneficiary needs and reduce disputes, finding that the split preserved the trust’s primary purpose and final distribution plan.

January 5, 2018Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied the Marx Group’s summary-judgment motion against the Schleifer estate’s settlement claims, finding that the agreement’s release preserved claims for breach of its insolvency warranty and payment terms. The 2018 appellate ruling dismissed fraud and conspiracy claims while preserving the contract claims.

November 14, 2017Unfavorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Ordered payment of a $100,000 Corbin estate bequest to a 92-year-old beneficiary within 30 days, with interest, rejecting unsupported claims that estate expenses justified further delay.

October 27, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Rejected the Argondizza estate's effort to recover apartment shares transferred to the decedent's husband. Evidence showed she requested the Medicaid-planning transfer. Denied both sides' requests for sanctions or costs.

October 13, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Granted summary judgment admitting Saul Leiter’s will after dismissing objections alleging improper execution, incapacity, undue influence and fraud. Found no evidence that the beneficiary displaced the photographer’s control over his personal and financial decisions.

October 13, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Reduced an executor-attorney’s requested legal fee from $499,622.50 to $175,000 in Matter of Schwartz, finding excessive, duplicative and executorial billing in an uncomplicated estate. Allowed $4,113.50 in reduced disbursements while other accounting objections remained pending.

October 12, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Allowed an executor's application to fix his attorneys' compensation in the Manny Duell estate to proceed despite the distribution of estate assets, rejecting limitations and jurisdictional defenses while preserving the challenge to the fees' reasonableness.

September 21, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Construed a credit shelter trust in Matter of Low (Lintz) to distribute its remainder and accumulated income to a deceased daughter’s estate, rather than the testator’s grandchildren, because the daughter had survived the testator and her interest had vested.

September 19, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Restricted transfers from disputed Keller estate accounts and required joint investment management after evidence of rapidly depleted assets, preserving the funds pending determination of ownership.

August 31, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Preserved objections alleging incapacity, improper execution and undue influence for trial in Stanley Richmond’s probate dispute, while dismissing unsupported fraud, duress and revocation objections. Denied the competing request to reject the will summarily.

July 14, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Granted a beneficiary’s accounting objections, disallowing another beneficiary’s legal fees as a charge against his share, requiring proportional estate-tax allocation for a specifically bequeathed apartment, and rejecting executor commissions on that apartment’s value.

July 14, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Construed a will as authorizing an outgoing co-trustee to nominate his successor and denied the beneficiary’s rival appointment request, reading the succession provisions together to carry out the testator’s intent.

July 12, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Reconsidered but maintained the refusal to rewrite Gladyce Gluckman's will to reduce generation-skipping transfer taxes, finding that circumstances arising decades after her death did not justify changing the testamentary plan.

July 11, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Held that an outgoing corporate trustee lacked a duty to deliver trust assets to the sole individual trustee before appointment of a required corporate successor. Denied the associated damages claims and dismissed an unrelated confidentiality claim for lack of jurisdiction.

June 28, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Authorized a small-estate administrator to obtain his deceased spouse’s Google contacts and calendar information. Denied access to email content without prejudice to a noticed application establishing necessity for estate administration.

June 14, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Reduced an estate attorney's requested fees from $21,784.25 to $17,605.25 because he failed to complete the accounting work.

April 13, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Reduced estate and trust counsel’s requested legal fees from $1,037,183 to $520,000 in Matter of Colt and denied all executor and trustee commissions because of gross neglect connected with an estate-planning error and failure to make the estate whole.

April 11, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Upheld a trustee's transfer of a life-insurance policy to another trust under the original trust's broad distribution powers. Dismissed accounting objections and maintained the ruling on reconsideration. The First Department affirmed the accounting decree in 2018.

March 31, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Granted summary judgment admitting Harold Young’s will after dismissing the remaining capacity, fraud, undue-influence and revocation objections. Found the opposing evidence insufficient to establish a triable challenge to the instrument.

March 17, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Directed payment of a trust remainder to Jeanne Nicole Ledoux’s estate, finding that her interest had vested and refusing to add a survivorship condition omitted from the testator’s grant of appointment power.

March 10, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied summary disqualification of a nominated co-executor for alleged inability to understand fiduciary duties, finding that competing expert evidence required a hearing on his fitness to serve.

January 12, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed James Cheney’s claims against his sister over their mother’s apartment, insurance, and safe-deposit property after trial for lack of proof, and ordered insurance proceeds held in a segregated account pending agreement or further order.

January 10, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed a mother’s claim to additional September 11 victim-compensation funds already addressed in her divorce settlement, while leaving other disputed estate distributions for trial in the Buchanan accounting.

January 10, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Approved Robert Berdow's will after finding evidence of mental capacity, proper signing and an independently chosen estate plan. Rejected unsupported fraud, pressure and undue-influence claims.

January 6, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Preserved a widow’s claims that gifts to family trusts interfered with her prenuptial property rights, while dismissing an aiding-and-abetting claim against a person who received none of the transferred assets individually. Consolidated the marital-property allocation claim with the executor’s accounting.

October 14, 2016Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

After trial, appointed Elijah J.’s mother as guardian based on his care and support needs, selected his aunt as standby guardian and his father as alternate, and granted statutory health-care decision authority.

October 13, 2016Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Directed that the Fink trust’s remainder pass to the estate of the named beneficiary who died before the lifetime beneficiary, finding that the will imposed no survival condition.

October 12, 2016Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Ruled that a later trust instrument had not amended or revoked Sandra Branch's earlier trust because it failed to follow the required formalities; left the later trust's validity and ownership of the apartment outside the decision.

October 6, 2016Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied a sister’s request for full guardianship of Amber M. after hearings raised concerns about unsafe care, and revoked temporary guardianship.

September 30, 2016Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Required a hearing before removing an executor accused of misrepresenting his citizenship when obtaining appointment in Matter of Carey. Kept his suspension in place and left the citizenship restriction's constitutionality undecided.

September 12, 2016Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Held that Gigi Carrier Cowell’s biological brother had no intestate inheritance rights after her adult adoption, applying New York law and rejecting a requested equitable exception.

July 12, 2016Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Resolved an unworkable distribution formula in Tessy Lane's will by directing full payment of two protected $45,000 bequests, then dividing the remaining estate equally between the other cash legatees and the residuary charities.

July 12, 2016Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Rejected a bankruptcy-based attempt to end the Chi-Chuan Wang estate's inquiry into missing artworks, ruling that the proceeding then sought information rather than a determination of personal liability.

April 15, 2016Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Upheld French-American Aid for Children's revocation of a charitable trust after all beneficiaries' consent was established, including the Attorney General's consent for indefinite charitable beneficiaries, and directed return of all trust property and accrued income.

April 14, 2016Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Relieved a surviving spouse of defects in filing and recording his elective-share notice and extended the filing period after finding actual notice and no prejudice to the estate beneficiaries. Reserved the separate dispute over his spousal qualification.

April 4, 2016Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Approved a $300,000 wrongful-death settlement in Matter of Rodriguez, including revised family allocations and protection of a minor’s share. Conditioned counsel’s $99,676.66 fee on payment from counsel’s fees of specified interest and settlement-funding charges caused by delayed distributions.

January 28, 2016Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Allowed an estate representative to disclaim an interest in recovered Nazi-looted Matisse paintings. Extended the filing deadline because the artworks' discovery and restitution had been delayed.

January 27, 2016Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Preserved a hearing over the fairness of releases and disputed beneficiary status in four coordinated Bronner trust-accounting proceedings. Dismissed fraud theories concerning the cash transfer and the trustee’s authority, while preserving factual disputes concerning a promissory note and disclosure.

January 15, 2016Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Compelled a surviving spouse to produce original testamentary writings in Matter of Slavin, rejecting jurisdictional and claimed good-cause exceptions to the production requirement. Denied both sides’ additional requests for fees, costs or sanctions.

December 8, 2015Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Rejected a surviving joint property owner’s claim that the Fleisher estate had to pay off two home-equity loans, holding that the liens remained with the property she inherited by survivorship.

October 14, 2015Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Required disclosure of specified artwork-invoice communications under the crime-fraud exception to privilege, but prohibited further discovery from opposing counsel. Expressly limited the ruling to the discovery threshold and made no final finding of fraud.

October 7, 2015Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Declined to pursue contempt against a Penn estate beneficiary because the administrator had not first attempted execution of the money judgment and had not shown the required personal service.

August 26, 2015Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Authorized sale of two Brauner estate properties to pay debts and distribute the estate, ordered access for the administrator, and delayed ejectment from the occupant’s longtime residence until February 2016.

August 5, 2015Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Preserved disputes over the Mark Goodman trust’s accounts, records, principal distributions, commissions, and investment prudence for trial while dismissing specified other objections.

July 15, 2015Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Allowed an executor to pay himself $79,432.50 for years of nonlegal services as Maria Smulyan's agent, reducing his $122,142.50 request and rejecting his use of lawyers' hourly rates without an agreement covering the work.

July 13, 2015Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Required the Falu estate-administration lawyer’s fee to come from the approved contingency fee rather than an extra estate charge, keeping combined legal fees within the one-third limit.

January 16, 2015Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Invalidated the decanting of two Johnson family trusts because the replacement trust broadened the class of remainder beneficiaries beyond the authority permitted by the governing statute, and directed restoration of the trust assets.

January 13, 2015Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Allowed the Carpenter trust's rent and possession claims to proceed in 2015. Later granted judgment ending the ground tenant's possession rights. Held that the 2019 tenant-protection law did not apply retroactively.

January 8, 2015Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: ddw-law.com

Approved division of a family trust into three separate trusts with corresponding administrative changes, but denied new trustee-removal and appointment powers that lacked support in the grantors’ intended terms.

November 13, 2014Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Ordered immediate release of 85% of three Holland beneficiaries’ September 11 compensation funds and kept the claimed 15% locator and attorney fees in escrow for a reasonableness review.

September 25, 2014Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Construed Francesco Scavullo’s will to place disputed photographic works and associated rights in a trust for his domestic partner’s lifetime benefit, rather than transfer them outright to the partner, reconciling conflicting provisions of the will.

July 14, 2014Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Compelled an administrator to account in Matter of McElduff and rejected dismissal and stays of proceedings seeking distribution and his removal. Allowed the distribution and removal claims to proceed without deciding their merits.

June 13, 2014Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Approved a $150,000 wrongful-death settlement for Madiouf Diouf’s estate, allocated the net proceeds 70% to his spouse and 30% to his minor daughter, and kept both law firms’ fees within the one-third contingency limit.

April 3, 2014Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Allowed an undue-influence challenge to Robert Kotick’s $1,077,000 promissory note to proceed while dismissing other defenses; the Appellate Division affirmed the ruling in July 2015.

January 13, 2014Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied a descendant’s request to unseal an adoptee’s original birth certificate for an Italian-citizenship application, finding that the asserted business and travel interests did not establish good cause for access to confidential adoption records.

January 10, 2014Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed objections that Lillie Rovno lacked testamentary capacity or was subjected to fraud, but preserved the undue-influence objection for trial because disputed facts remained about the beneficiary’s role in arranging the will.

January 10, 2014Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Granted a second-parent adoption to a man who jointly raised a child with her adoptive mother, holding that their close friendship and separate households did not bar both from becoming the child’s legal parents.

December 27, 2013Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied Seema Verma’s request for $250,802 from the Eisenberg trust, finding her prior $82,000 payment more than reasonably compensated her work, and declined Citibank’s request for sanctions.

October 15, 2013Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Reduced requested legal fees in the Schulte trust accounting by $14,548.75 for excessive document-gathering work and hourly charges.

October 15, 2013Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Granted limited ancillary administration of Paula Assimakopoulos's estate. The Appellate Division reversed in 2018, finding she remained a New York resident for probate purposes and appointing the Public Administrator instead.

September 25, 2013Unfavorable on Legal Competence

Source: caselaw.findlaw.com

Rejected agreed changes to the Knapp trust's distribution ages, principal restrictions and trustee succession. The changes conflicted with the testator's stated intent. Required a separate application for the associated resignations.

September 20, 2013Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed a petition to recover bank accounts for the Mendelson estate, finding insufficient evidence to invalidate their retitling under an unrevoked power of attorney. The Appellate Division affirmed in April 2014.

July 12, 2013Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: law.justia.com

Denied Regis High School’s request to change a trust’s accreditation condition because the proposed alteration conflicted with Hugh Grant’s clearly expressed testamentary intent.

April 2, 2013Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Invalidated two partial releases of Rocky Aoki’s power to appoint trust beneficiaries after a nonjury trial. The Appellate Division reversed in 2014, finding an improper shift of the constructive-fraud burden; the Court of Appeals affirmed that reversal in 2016.

March 5, 2013Unfavorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Mella sentenced Daniel Sajewski to seven days in jail for failing to complete community service related to a 2008 arrest.

June 1, 2012Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: dnainfo.com

Mella entered Fode Bangoura's theft-of-services conviction and sentence after his guilty plea to subway fare evasion. The appellate court affirmed in 2016, finding the charge adequate and the plea knowing and voluntary.

January 24, 2012Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: hallapproved.com

Mella sentenced Jayson Williams to one year in jail after his guilty plea to drunken driving.

August 20, 2010Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: cbsnews.com

Dismissed the marijuana-sale case against D.D. after finding 98 days of delay chargeable to prosecutors, exceeding the 90-day limit.

May 11, 2010Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed an assault charge against A.S. because the accusation described no injury beyond a conclusory claim of substantial pain, and ordered a hearing on identification evidence.

May 11, 2010Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed W.J.’s marijuana-possession charge because police allegations did not establish that marijuana was visible in public.

April 9, 2010Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed a marijuana-sale charge in People v Custodro because allegations of looking up and down a street and conversing with the seller did not sufficiently allege intentional assistance. Allowed the possession charge to proceed and ordered suppression hearings without deciding suppression.

October 22, 2009Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Dismissed an attempted evidence-tampering charge against Jerrell Lewis because the accusation failed to establish that he knowingly discarded marijuana to prevent its use in a proceeding, and ordered a hearing on his statements.

September 30, 2009Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Denied dismissal of Antorne Boyce’s criminal-contempt charge but required prosecutors to cure a hearsay defect concerning an unsigned protection order.

September 30, 2009Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Entered judgment and imposed sentence after a jury convicted Vladislav Chijevich of two driving-while-intoxicated counts. The Appellate Term affirmed in 2012, sustaining the admission of breath-test evidence and the evidentiary basis for the convictions.

December 5, 2008Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Sentenced Harry Boyce following a guilty plea to fourth-degree weapon possession. The Appellate Term affirmed in 2011, finding the sentencing court’s inquiry adequate after he reaffirmed his guilt.

October 21, 2008Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: law.justia.com

Entered judgment and imposed sentence after Sergei Kramtsov pleaded guilty to third-degree menacing. On reargument in December 2010, the Appellate Term affirmed, finding the knife-display allegations sufficient despite a window between the defendant and complainant.

August 5, 2008Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Mella entered Patricia Williams's petit-larceny conviction and sentence following her guilty plea. The appellate court affirmed in 2009, finding allegations that she sold subway entry using an unlimited MetroCard sufficient to support the charge.

April 23, 2008Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

Ordered David Ajemian to pay $95 and stay away from Conan O'Brien for two years after his disorderly-conduct guilty plea.

April 8, 2008Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: latimes.com

Denied the prosecution’s request to consolidate three marijuana cases against Julio Mercado for trial after finding the incidents lacked a shared criminal purpose and that consolidation was unwarranted.

September 25, 2007Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nycourts.gov

After law school, Mella practiced criminal defense in a private office and served Spanish-speaking clients.

March 5, 2007Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: diariolibre.com