Short Hills Litigator Michael A. Saffer Secures $18.1M Settlement

Mandelbaum Barrett PC, a full-service law firm serving both personal and business clients, has announced that Michael A. Saffer, a partner and Co-Chair of the firm’s Litigation group, has secured a significant win in a high-stakes business valuation trial, achieving a decisive outcome for a client involved in a highly contentious LLC ownership dispute.

Tried by Saffer and Partner Brian Block before a Chancery Division judge, the case centered on the value of a client’s minority membership interest in an LLC that owns a major development site in northern New Jersey. The litigation was fiercely contested, involving extensive pre-trial motion practice and discovery, and a seven-day bench trial held during November 2024. The parties submitted a comprehensive post-trial briefing on December 30, 2024.

“At the start of the trial, the opposing parties—three co-owners of the LLC—offered a relatively insubstantial sum for our ownership client’s interest, which our client swiftly rejected,” Saffer explained.

Through meticulous preparation and strategic trial advocacy, Mandelbaum Barrett’s team presented four expert witnesses to support its client’s valuation position. Notably, during the trial, the trial team successfully moved to strike the report and the entire trial testimony of the opposing side’s business valuation expert, significantly undermining their case.

On April 30, 2025, the Court issued a 38-page written decision valuing the client’s ownership interest at $18,137,500—a substantially higher value than the opposing party offered at trial.

“This result reflects the depth of our litigation team’s experience in complex business disputes,” explained Saffer. “It also underscores Mandelbaum Barrett PC’s commitment to delivering exceptional client outcomes, even under the most challenging circumstances.”

About Michael Saffer

Saffer focuses his practice on the areas of complex commercial litigation, shareholder disputes, restrictive covenant contracts and corporate counseling. He represents banks, national corporations, closely held companies and entrepreneurs, and has considerable experience in both seeking and opposing injunctive relief actions. He has obtained numerous multi-million-dollar verdicts.

As a seasoned trial attorney, Saffer has litigated jury trials, bench trials and arbitration in diverse areas including contract actions, shareholder disputes, medical malpractice, adverse possession, palimony and bank fraud.

He serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee for the Kessler Foundation, one of the largest not-for-profit research centers in the country. Saffer is a member of The Litigation Counsel of America, a “by invitation only” organization of the top litigators in the United States. Recognized every year since 2006 to “Best Lawyers in America” in commercial litigation as one of the top litigators in America, Saffer has also been selected for inclusion in the New Jersey Super Lawyers Edition every year since 2009 for Business Litigation.

About Mandelbaum Barrett PC

Mandelbaum Barrett PC is a full-service law firm serving both personal and business clients. Recognized as one of the Northeast region’s premiere full-service law firms by U.S. News & World Report, with nearly 30 practice areas and over 100 attorneys, the firm and its attorneys have been recognized by clients and peers alike in The Best Lawyers in America©, Chambers USA, and New Jersey Super Lawyers. Mandelbaum Barrett is headquartered in Roseland, N.J., with offices in Edison, Eatontown, Elizabeth, and Lyndhurst, New Jersey, as well as New York City, Denver, and Boca Raton, Florida. For more information, visit www.mblawfirm.com.