$20 Million Victory

On June 25, 2019, after four years of litigation and a trial that spanned eleven trial days from February to May, Essex County Chancery Division Judge Jodi Lee Alper issued a fully favorable verdict in favor of our clients, the Board of Trustees of the First Presbyterian Church in Newark. In this highly contentious and unique litigation involving several centuries of church history, a Royal Charter from King George II in 1753, and a $20 million property adjacent to the Prudential Center in Newark, our clients and the congregation they serve were able to fend off outside Presbyterian entities interested in gaining control of this valuable property located in the heart of the business district in Newark. Hats off to the hearts of our clients in fighting the good fight and to the hard work of Charles Schalk and the employees of our firm in obtaining this most excellent result. The matter received the attention of the New Jersey Law Journal: https://www.law.com/njlawjournal/2019/07/12/judge-rejects-challenge-to-autonomy-of-17th-century-church/.