NEW YORK, March 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Lorna G. Schofield dismissed the case of Estate of Ernest Gottdiener, et al. v. Sater, et al. , 13 Civ. 01824 (LGS).

The court's decision is a clear legal victory for Salvatore Lauria. This lawsuit, which was dismissed, was described as the "third frivolous action" in the lawsuit filed on Monday by Salvatore Lauria, who is represented by Beys Stein Mobargha & Berland LLP, against Jody Kriss, CEO of East River Partners. Kriss's lawyers had brought the dismissed lawsuit in the name of deceased figurehead plaintiffs against two of the same defendants whom they had named in multiple lawsuits.

In his complaint, filed Monday, against Kriss, Lauria alleges that Kriss "uses his veneer of power and prestige, and the court system, to repeatedly sue and extort innocent defendants…He has attempted to extort all of these various parties by filing no less than four frivolous, sensational lawsuits over the last five years."

Today's decision represents the second time one of Kriss's lawsuits has been dismissed. Kriss's "first frivolous action," as it is referred to in Lauria's complaint, was dismissed by the Delaware Chancery Court in early 2010.

"We are confident that these court victories will continue, which show how Mr. Kriss and his agents have misused the legal system," said Michael Beys, attorney for Lauria.

SOURCE Beys Stein Mobargha & Berland LLP