Ira Gammerman, a Commercial Division Founder, Dies at 91

Ira Gammerman (Photo: Rick Kopstein)

Ira Gammerman, one of the founding justices of the Manhattan Supreme Court’s highly regarded Commercial Division—who continued to carry a significant caseload for a decade after retirement in an arrangement with the state’s commercial bar—has died.

He was 91. He passed away at his Manhattan home on Saturday.

An announcement from the funeral home handling the arrangements—circulated to the legal community Monday afternoon by longtime Manhattan Supreme Court Chief Clerk John Werner—did not list a cause of death.

Gammerman was known as an intelligent, tough, wise and wisecracking judge on the Commercial Division who handled many thousands of complicated cases over a decadeslong career. While viewed as fair and knowledgeable in the law—with strong views on a number of legal issues—his outsize personality also left a deep impression, sometimes becoming the most memorable part of a courtroom experience with him.

Purely in number of years and matters handled, he was a stalwart on the Commercial Division, which has risen to be considered among the most highly respected commercial courts in the world, often mentioned alongside London’s commercial court as handling many of the world's most important, complex and high-value matters.

In 1993, Gammerman was assigned with three other Manhattan Supreme Court judges to kick off the Commercial Division pilot program, according to the Hawthorne Funeral Home announcement and a separate interview on Monday with Chief Clerk Werner. The division has since grown and prospered, and has leaped from initially being a part of just two counties' court systems to being found in 10 New York counties and districts.

But when Gammerman reached the mandatory retirement age of 76 in 2004, he was not done with the division and its weighty cases.

He was able to make an arrangement with the commercial-lawyer bar, according to Werner, to keep trying and deciding many of his 250 to 300 existing cases. He therefore carried a significant caseload for years, Werner said, and a larger load than what many retired justices, who become Judicial Hearing Officers, typically carry.

In all, the judge presided over many thousands of commercial cases, as well as many other types of cases in a 30-year judicial career. Moreover, he was a trial assignment judge on the Manhattan Supreme Court for about 10 years, Werner said.

Gammerman left an impression on lawyers, the state and litigants that will last for decades or longer.

Mark Zauderer, a commercial litigator and today a partner at Ganfer Shore Leeds & Zauderer, who appeared before Gammerman for many years, said on Monday that Gammerman was “extremely bright and quick—and he grasped issues immediately and followed them very closely and accurately when on trial.”

“He was a man of very strong convictions on legal issues, and very strong views on issues in cases he heard, but he was unfailingly courteous to trial counsel,” Zauderer said.

“And while he might at times express humor or sarcasm, it was never personally demeaning,” he said.

Zauderer also said that, “what particularly characterized him, was given the strong views, if he didn’t agree with you on a legal issue, you would have move mountains to change his mind. But, he was unfailingly fair.”

Speaking of the judge’s sharpness, Zauderer recalled a high-value employment dispute with an employee who sued a major corporation. During trial, Gammerman surprised Zauderer with his recall.

“I can remember cross-examining a witness, and he didn’t appear to be listening carefully,” Zauderer recounted, “and 15 minutes later, when the witness gave testimony, he remembered precisely what the witness had said earlier and corrected him.”

Outside of court, in “bar circles,” Gammerman “was a gentleman, and he had a wonderful sense of humor and seemed to genuinely enjoy mixing with lawyers,” according to Zauderer.

A 2004 profile of Gammerman in the New York Times focused on his wit and shrewdness in courtrooms, including when litigants such as Woody Allen appeared before him. Near the start of the profile, Gammerman was called “a one-stop vending machine of justice.”

“He empanels multiple juries, issues frequent decisions, wisecracks and, when he is in the mood, takes over from the lawyers before him and questions the witnesses himself, all while typing away on other matters on a computer," the profile said.

It continued, “Indeed, when Justice Gammerman warms to a well-argued case, life inside his courtroom can be sweet and entertaining. But dally a bit too much, or bend the facts in pursuit of a truth he cannot see, and judgment for the lawyers can be swift and, well, harsh. Witnesses are not spared, either.”

According to the funeral home announcement, Gammerman is survived by his wife, Margaret Taylor of New York, his children, Dan (Carolyn) Gammerman of Centerport and Judith (Hunter) McQuistion of Hastings on Hudson, and four grandchildren.