Mr. Yankelunas has extensive experience in both State and Federal Courts representing corporate and business clients, public entities and individuals in complex commercial litigation. This includes a variety of business disputes such as construction and contract litigation, accounting malpractice, bankruptcy fraud, corporate dissolution litigation, non-competition agreement disputes, false advertising suits, unfair competition litigation, and other civil litigation matters. His experience includes class actions and cases involving workers compensation trusts, intellectual property, defamation, product liability and personal injury.

In addition to negotiating and drafting construction contracts, Mr. Yankelunas has experience drafting takeover and completion agreements for sureties.   His construction litigation experience includes cases handled on behalf of public and private owners, developers, prime contractors and subcontractors.  This encompasses handling the prosecution and defense of claims against sureties on payment and performance bonds, Miller Act claims and the prosecution of indemnity claims on behalf of sureties and litigation involving design professionals.

Mr. Yankelunas has successfully represented a surety in a U.S Bankruptcy Court trial after which the Court denied a bankruptcy discharge due to the debtor’s fraudulent concealment of assets. He later represented the same surety in two trials and appeals to obtain rulings piercing the corporate veil and granting the surety the right to collect money payable by a third party to a judgment debtor and to recover funds transferred in violation of a Court Order. He has also defended banks in lender liability suits and provided loan workout services to banks in connection with large commercial loans.

 

Honors & Awards

Ed has been selected as an Upstate New York Super Lawyer. The Super Lawyer group represents the top 5% of attorneys in Upstate New York who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

News

Publications & Articles

His publications include:

The Alter Ego Doctrine in New York, New York State Bar Association Journal, Vol. 87, No. 4, May 2015 (Cover Article)

Workers Comp Trusts: A Good Idea Gone Bad, Buffalo Business First, December 7-13, 2017, reprinted in Rochester Business Journal, January 11, 2013

Yellowstone Injunctions in Federal Court, New York State Bar Association Journal, Vol. 77, No. 7, September 2005, reprinted in The Daily Record, No. 202, October 19, 2005 and No. 210 October 31, 2005

Personal Liability for Trust Fund Diversion, Empire State Builder (publication of the New York State Builders Association), Vol. 7, No. 9, May/June 2005, reprinted in Upstate (publication of Construction Exchange of Buffalo & Western New York, Inc.), 2013

 Show Me The Money, Collateral Security--The Surety's Leverage, Update (publication of Construction Exchange of Buffalo & Western New York, Inc.), Vol. 23, No. 2, February 2003