Sarmad M. Khojasteh’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts, and in proceedings before state and federal regulatory agencies. Sarmad represents public and private companies, private equity and other investment firms, partnerships and individuals in industries including financial services, real estate, insurance, media and manufacturing. He handles a broad range of securities and credit-related matters, commercial and contract disputes, corporate governance issues, and governmental investigations for various companies, including MBIA, The Related Companies, and the Renco Group. Sarmad also has represented Iranians in connection with their political asylum applications, including an Iranian journalist accused of treason and an Iranian student fearing persecution based on his sexual orientation.
Sarmad has been named a Rising Star by the New York Law Journal. He has also been recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a Future Star and on its 40 & Under List, and by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star.
Sarmad serves on the Board of Directors for Legal Services of the Hudson Valley. Sarmad also serves on the Board of Directors for the Iranian American Bar Association’s New York Chapter, where he serves as Chair of the Pro Bono Committee.
Work Highlights:
- MBIA in a decade-long put-back action against Credit Suisse in which MBIA sought to recover for breaches of representations and warranties related to RMBS insured by MBIA. After a two-week bench trial in New York State Supreme Court, the court found that MBIA had convincingly proved that Credit Suisse breached its representations and warranties, and that Credit Suisse was liable for over $600 million in damages.
- Federal Housing Finance Agency, as conservator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in actions in federal and state courts against numerous financial institutions and individuals. The lawsuits sought rescission or damages from the banks for, among other things, their misrepresentations concerning pools of mortgage loans that underlie residential mortgage-backed securities the banks issued, securitized and sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. After prevailing on critical pre-trial issues, FHFA settled the actions brought by Kasowitz for over $2 billion, including a $1.25 billion settlement with Morgan Stanley.
- MBIA, one of the world’s largest monoline insurers, in litigation brought by 18 of the world’s largest banks seeking to overturn MBIA’s corporate restructuring which, with the approval of the New York Department of Insurance, established a separate company for MBIA’s municipal bond insurance business. After a several-week evidentiary proceeding, the New York Supreme Court upheld MBIA’s restructuring, and MBIA then received $1.7 billion in cash and a $500 million line of credit for its municipal bond insurance business.
Updated Sep 2023
