• EDWARD S. RUDOFSKY P.C.
• ERIC S. HOROWITZ, ESQ

Edward S. Rudofsky P.C. has been associated with the firm since 1978 and a member since 1980. Mr. Rudofsky is a highly regarded litigator and appellate advocate with a wealth of practical experience in cases involving commercial and real estate issues, zoning, administrative law, and constitutional questions; has substantial experience counseling non-profit and religious institutions; administers the alternative dispute resolution program of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism; and serves as a mediator for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

The more than 100 reported decisions in which Mr. Rudofsky has been counsel include a number of leading cases in which he has represented clients of the firm, such as:

• Roba v. United States, 604 F.2d 215 (2nd Cir. 1979) (establishing right of Federal prisoner to seek writ of habeas corpus challenging detention in response to removal proceeding);


• Gartner v. Snyder, 607 F.3d 582 (2nd Cir. 1979) (recognizing theory of "horizontal piercing of the corporate veil" between related corporations);


• Shu-Tao Lin v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 742 F.2d 45 (2nd Cir. 1984) (establishing cause of action for airplane passengers' fear of impending death);


• Lerman v. Flynt Distributing Co., Inc., 745 F.2d 123 (2nd Cir. 1984) (recognition of author Jackie Collins as "limited purpose public figure" and reversal of $10 million verdict as a matter of constitutional law);


• Richmond Children's Center, Inc. v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Cos., 128 A.D.3d 849 (2nd Dept. 1987) (establishing duty of insurer to defend when property is the subject of a licensing agreement, rather than a lease);


• Potamkin Cadillac Corp. v. B.R.I. Coverage Corp., 38 F.3d 627 (2nd Cir. 1994) (affirming dismissal of insurance broker's counterclaims in Civil RICO action);


• Jay-Jay Cabaret, Inc. v. State of New York et al.,,, 164 Misc.2d 673 (N.Y. Co. 1994), aff'd 215 A.D.3d 172 (1st Dept. 1995) (striking SLA "Six Foot Rule" as ultra vires);


• South Huntington Jewish Center, Inc. v. Heyman, 282 AD 2d 684 (2nd Dept. 2001) (establishing arbitrability of Human Rights Law claims under broad form arbitration clause);


• Lerner v. Fleet Bank, N.A., 318 F.3d 113 (2nd Cir. 2003) (establishing right to plead separate companion actions so as to invoke diversity jurisdiction), and 459 F.3d 273 (2nd Cir. 2006) (sustaining common law negligence claims against Banks in Ponzi scheme);


• Solomon v. Lancaster, 19 A.D.3d 334 (1st Dept. 2005) (establishing quorum requirement for taking of testimony before administrative board and extending rule prohibiting union officers from hearing license applications by non-union applicants on Due Process grounds);


• Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, Inc. v. Sharf, 59 A.D. 3d 403 (2nd Dept. 2009) (modifying injunction), and 59 A.D.3d 408 (2nd Dept. 2009) (modifying judgment of ejectment so as to prevent eviction of religious congregation from historical house of worship), and 84 A.D.3d 1185 (2nd Dept. 2011) (reversing post-appeal amendment of judgment to include religious congregation).


• For the People Theaters of N.Y. Inc. v. City of New York, 84 A.D.3d 48 (1st Dept. 2011) (reversing judgment declaring 2001 Adult Use Amendment to N.Y.C. Zoning Resolution constitutional and remanding for new findings and decision).


• Dabriel, Inc. v. First Paradise Theaters Corp., , 99 A.D.3d 517 (1st Dept. 2012) (reversing denial of dismissal of tenant claims to Loew's Paradise Theater).


• For the People Theaters of N.Y. Inc. v. City of New York, 38 Misc 3d 663, 954 N.Y.S.2d 801 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Co. 2012) (declaring 2001 Adult Use Amendment to N.Y.C. Zoning Resolution facially unconstitutional).


• For The People Theaters of N.Y. Inc. v. City of New York, 2015 WL4429048 (1st Dept. 2015) (affirming judgment holding NYC Zoning Amendments unconstitutional).

Mr. Rudofsky, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School and Queens College of the City University of New York, and is a member of the charter class of Hofstra University School of Law, where he was the Managing Editor of the Law Review.

Upon graduation from law school, he was accepted into the Attorney General's Program for Honor Law Graduates and served as a Trial Attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Rudofsky was then appointed as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, ultimately serving as Deputy Chief of the Civil Division.

During his tenure in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Rudofsky handled a number of high profile cases, including Meir Kahane's constitutional challenges to his conviction and conditions of imprisonment, the constitutional challenge to the Hyde Amendment (restriction on Federal funding of abortions), the CIA-mail opening case, the Croatian skyjacking case, and the last contributory negligence case tried in the State of New York, as well as administering the clinical practice program as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School.

He has been admitted to practice law in New York and in various Federal trial and appellate courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States; and is a member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the Federal Bar Council, the Eastern District Association, and the First Amendment Lawyers Association (FALA); is rated AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell, has been recognized as a "Super Lawyer", and is named an "Elite" Lawyer by Avenue Magazine. He has been a member of the FALA Board of Officers since 2014 and is presently serving as the President of the FALA.

Mr. Rudofsky is the General Counsel of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism; the Chair of the USCJ Committee on Kehilla Affiliations & Standards and one of the United Synagogue's representatives to the Rabbinical Assembly Committee on Jewish Law and Standards; the author of The Role of the Synagogue Board in the Employment of the Rabbi (MetNY 2007) Revised Standards for Congregational Practice (CJ Magazine, 2007), and Conservative Judaism 101: A Primer for New Members (And Practically Everyone Else) (SHJC, 2008-2011); the principal reviser of The USCJ Guide to Contractual Relations (2010); and the co-author of the Guide to the USCJ Standards & Expectations (2013). He also serves as legal counsel for Richmond Community Services in Mount Kisco, NY, and is an ex officio member of its Board of Directors.

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Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation
Real Estate Litigation
Non-Profit & Religious Corporation
Zoning Litigation
Administrative Law

Education

J.D., Hofstra University Law School, 1973
B.A., Queens College, 1970

Bar Admissions

New York
U.S. Court of International Trade
U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
U.S. District Court, Southern District of NY
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of NY
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Professional Affiliations

New York State Bar Association
American Bar Association
Federal Bar Council
Eastern District Association
First Amendment Lawyers Association

Professional Recognitions

AV® Preeminent™ Rated by Martindale Hubbell
2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 & 2011 Super Lawyer in New York
2012 Super Lawyer for Business Litigation
2013, 2012, 2011 & 2010 Legal Elite by Avenue Magazine

Publications

The Guide to the USCJ Standards & Expectations (2013)

Conservative Judaism 101: A Primer for New Members (2008-2011)

The USCJ Guide to Contractual Relations (2010)

The Role of the Synagogue Board in the Employment of the Rabbi (2007)

Revised Standards for Congregational Practice (2007)

Presentations

"Freedom of Conscience & Hostility to Religion After Masterpiece Cakeshop" (FALA Summer 2018 Conference)

"Reed v. Town of Gilbert: Whither Goest?" (FALA Summer 2018 Conference)

"Liberty of Conscience" (FALA Summer 2017 Conference)

"Freedom From Religion" (FALA Winter 2017 Conference)

Zoning / First Amendment "Legal Updates" (FALA Summer 2013, Winter 2014, Summer 2014, Winter 2015, Summer 2015, Winter 2016 and Summer 2016 Conferences)

"Legal Aspects of Synagogue Mergers in New York: A Review of Sections 208 and 209 of the New York Religious Corporations Law" (USCJ/MetNY Fall 2014 Leadership Conference)

"New York, New York: A First Amendment Strike Against the Empire" (FALA Winter 2013 Conference)

"How to be a Mentsch in an Economic Downturn" (USCJ/METNY Spring 2009 Leadership Conference)