Abraham Pomerantz

Abraham Louis Pomerantz (March 22, 1903 – November 20, 1982) was an American attorney who "pioneered shareholder suits against major corporations and for a time directed the prosecution of German industrialists after World War II." He also defended Soviet diplomat Valentin A. Gubitchev in the 1949-1950 Judith Coplon case.

Background

Abraham L. Pomerantz was born on March 22, 1903, in Brooklyn, New York. In 1924, Pomerantz studied at Brooklyn Law School at night. He pioneered suits by small shareholders against officials of such big corporations as McDonnell Douglas Corporation and the Dreyfus Fund.

In 1933, Pomerantz brought his first major shareholder suit by representing an investor with twenty shares of National City Bank of New York against the bank's chairman and CEO.

He specialized in so-called derivative suits, in which the company receives the award and passes it on to all stockholders. That original law firm is now called Pomerantz LLP and no longer embraces the derivative suit approach. It currently specializes in bringing lucrative class action lawsuits against high-profile companies.

Prominent legal cases include: 1946: Strike by American Communications Association CIO v. Western Union Telegraph Company (motion by Western Union to disqualify ACA attorney Pomerantz) 1948: Kaiser Aluminum 1969: Shareholders v. Hartford Fire Insurance Company 1970: Ross v. Bernhard, 396 U.S. 531: Right to trial by jury in derivative actions 1973: Putnam Management 1982 Gartenberg v. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc., 694 F.2d 923 in the second circuit: Investment company advisory fee may violate Section 36(b) of Investment Company Act of 1940 when lacking reasonable relationship to services rendered) "Eight months later, he left Germany after accusing the Truman Administration of not really wanting to pursue the trials." In 1950, Gubitchev and Coplon were convicted in 1950 and received 15-year sentences. However, Gubitchev received a reprieve on condition he leave the country, while Coplon was freed on bail. 16 years later the indictment was dropped by the Justice Department.

Personal life and death

Pomerantz married Phyllis Cohen; they had two children, Charlotte Pomerantz (who married Carl Marzani) and Daniel Pomerantz.

Abraham Pomerantz died age 79 on November 20, 1982, in New York City.

Works

"Point of View" (1971) "Letters to the Editor" (1974) "Letters to the Editor" (1975)