Latest Updates /  Litigation

Recently, the new ethics regulations for real estate brokers in Israel came into effect, requiring them to operate with full transparency and uphold high standards of integrity towards their clients. Shahar Poller Atzil, a partner in our litigation department, was invited to an interview on Channel 10 (the Economic Channel) to discuss the new reform that is set to change the landscape of the real estate brokerage market in Israel.

Adv. Liat Keisary, Head of the Private Clients Department at the firm, and Adv. Gal Livshits, a partner in the Litigation Department who represents high-net-worth clients in inheritance disputes, were interviewed by Calcalist following a recent Supreme Court ruling regarding mutual wills.

The Economic Court's decision to revoke the approval of a derivative lawsuit filed against the controlling shareholder of Equital has sparked controversy among corporate law experts. As a capital market expert, Micky Barnea was interviewed by Globes on the matter and stated, among other things, that directors on the audit committee examining transactions should be allowed to consult with the controlling shareholder without it being considered as subordinating themselves to his will.

Jus Mundi has published a comprehensive overview designed for those with an interest in international arbitration. The publication examines recent developments in international arbitration in Israel, offering an in-depth analysis of the evolving legal framework. Lina Makhuli, Senior Associate at Barnea Jaffa Lande, was selected to contribute to this publication as part of the writing team for the chapter on Israel.

Advs. Idan Miller and Hadar Eilon represented 100 apartment owners in a Tama 38 project in Holon, where the development company entered insolvency proceedings. We guided the residents through a mediation process that resulted in an agreement safeguarding their rights and securities without requiring any additional payments from them. The agreement also paved the way for resuming construction on the project. The mediation agreement, which included commitments from new apartment buyers (not our clients) to inject tens of millions of shekels into the project to fund its completion, was approved by the District Court.

In the "Three Court Rulings a Week" section, the ruling in which the Supreme Court annulled a tender for public transportation services in the Golan was selected, due to a conflict of interest involving a lawyer who advised the tender committee while also providing legal counsel to the winning bidder. Adv. Eran Winner, representing Superbus, which was declared "second qualified" in the appeal to the Supreme Court, stated: "We are pleased that the Supreme Court emphasized the importance of maintaining the integrity of the tender process. However, we regret that it was not established as a precedent that the entire tender should be annulled; rather, only the winning bid was disqualified, and our company was declared the winners of the tender as 'second qualified.'"

Eyal Nachshon, an expert in class actions, was interviewed by Globes following the recent rise in motions to certify class action, mainly due to the escalation in the security situation. Among other things, Eyal noted: "Nowadays, people tend to rush to file lawsuits in order to be first in line, but it’s important to stop and consider whether this is the right legal tool for their specific case."

Zohar Lande, Adi Shoham, Shay Bello, and Anna Elenport are representing the Aviv Group in an administrative petition against the Herzliya Municipality. The petition was filed after the municipality undertook to approve a development plan for land within a year, a condition precedent to the transfer of the land to Aviv. The municipality however, has yet to review the plan. The Aviv Group is currently bearing the financial cost – whereas the construction is not expected to start any time soon.

Eyal Nachshon, Zohar Haim Levinger and Anna Elenport represented Bank Hapoalim in a class action lawsuit filed by the Association of Representatives of Society and the Environment. In the application for the class action, it is claimed that the bank charges excessive exchange fees when converting monies in foreign currency. The court rejected the application out of hand and stated that the submission of the application constitutes conduct in bad faith and misuse of a legal process.

Our firm represented a CFO who previously served at one of the largest construction companies in the country in a lawsuit filed with the Tel Aviv District Court (Economics Department). The lawsuit was initiated by the trustee appointed to the company as part of an insolvency proceeding. The CFO, who served for only a few months at the company, was one of dozens of defendants, including board members, members of management, controlling owners, and auditors, all of whom were held jointly and severally liable for damages allegedly amounting to approximately ILS 500 million due to the company’s collapse and subsequent insolvency proceedings. Despite the lawsuit raising several factual and legal claims against the CFO, we took the unusual step of filing a motion to dismiss the lawsuit outright on behalf of the CFO, before even submitting a statement of defense. The grounds for this motion included lack of cause and lack of standing. Following discussions with the trustee, an agreement was reached to remove the CFO from the lawsuit. As a result, the CFO was not held personally responsible for any of the alleged damages, with collective responsibility being attributed to all remaining defendants.

Our firm represents the investment fund Mouro Capital, a shareholder with an appointed director, in the insolvency proceedings of the international Israeli fintech company Vesttoo. This is a parallel insolvency process taking place in both the U.S. and Israel, with the company’s debts estimated at approximately $3 billion. We represent the fund as Vesttoo (and 48 affiliated entities) undergoes Chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S., while in Israel, enforcement proceedings for debt restructuring and recognition of the foreign insolvency proceedings are underway. As part of this, declaratory relief actions have been filed in Israel to establish jurisdiction over issues related to the directors’ activities in the company.

Zohar Lande, the head of our firm's Litigation Department, participated today in the annual conference hosted by the Association of Corporate Counsel in Israel (ACC Israel). Zohar took part in a panel on crisis management in companies. 

Idan Miller, the head of our firm's insolvency practice, lectured to attendees of an Israel Builders Association financial management course. The focus of the lecture was how to handle and prepare for insolvency events.

Idan Miller, the head of our firm's insolvency practice, was appointed as the insolvency trustee for White Dress Marketing Ltd. (formerly Riki Dalal Group). Together with Hadar Eilon, Idan submitted an economic rehabilitation plan on behalf of the company and its shareholders for the Tel Aviv District Court's approval. In his request, Idan asked that the controlling shareholder's military reserve service be recognized as a contributing factor for the purpose of granting relief and avoiding a full insolvency procedure. When asked by the court for his response, the Commissioner for Insolvency Proceedings accepted this position.