Former Dewey Partners Off the Hook for NY Lease, Judge Rules

There was a blast of good news for 377 former Dewey & LeBoeuf partners on Monday: A New York state judge ruled that their former landlord, 1301 Properties Owner, isn’t entitled to recover rent payments lost in the law firm’s collapse because the partners aren’t personally liable.

In 2013, the landlord initially had sued 426 former Dewey partners for $220 million claiming the partners were personally liable for Dewey’s rent payments.

But in an order filed with the court on Monday, Judge Saliann Scarpulla ruled the plaintiff’s theory was flawed, and pointed to New York Partnership Law as protecting the partners ...