Latest Updates /  Litigation

Globes' "Three Rulings a Week" section selected the Supreme Court's decision to annul a tender for public transportation services in the Golan, 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, who represented Superbus, which was declared "second qualified" in the Supreme Court appeal, stated, "We are pleased the Supreme Court emphasized the importance of maintaining the integrity of the tender process. However, we regret that it did not establish 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 Israel's 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."

Advs. Zohar Lande, Adi Shoham, Shay Bello, and Anna Elenport are representing 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. Aviv Group is currently bearing the financial cost, even as 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.

Zohar Lande and Shai Avnieli represented Metpro in an administrative appeal submitted to the Supreme Court, in which another bidder attempted to disqualify Metpro’s win in the tender for the management and planning of the M1 metro line. The Supreme Court accepted the district court’s position, recommending that the appellant withdraw its appeal and reach an agreement with Metpro regarding legal expenses.

A new bill seeks to oblige would-be plaintiffs to send letters of complaint to potential defendants before filing a class action motion. Eyal Nachshon, a partner in our firm’s Litigation Department and an expert on class action lawsuits, was interviewed by Globes about his position on the bill. Eyal believes the proposed model “will only strengthen the institution of class actions.”

Zohar Lande, Eran Winner, Lina Makhuli, and Chen Segal from our Litigation Department represented Panda, a private company embroiled in a shareholder dispute that caused a deadlock within its decision-making bodies. The dispute reached the Supreme Court, which issued an important and precedential ruling. The Court accepted the company’s position and outlined the proper manner for managing and resolving shareholder disputes, as well as rules of thumb for dealing with deadlocks in private companies. These included the option to classify a director in a private company as having a "negative personal interest" and even the possibility of not bringing a transaction for approval before the board’s general meeting.

Gal Livshits, Yatir Madar, and Liron Dahan from our firm’s Litigation Department are representing Gencell in a NIS 16 million lawsuit against the car importer EV Motors as well as Holon Motors. The suit alleges the defendants owe Gencell NIS 4.5 million for systems and equipment they purchased but did not pay for.