Milberg founder weiss seeks dismissal of Madoff trustee suit

Melvyn Weiss, former co-founding partner of the law firm Milberg LLP, said he would seek dismissal of a lawsuit by the trustee for Bernard L. Madoff’s defunct firm that demands return of money withdrawn from the Ponzi scheme over 15 years.

“The trustee’s claims violate the statutory ‘look back’ periods limiting avoidance to six years prior to the filing date for state law,” Weiss said yesterday in a filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Trustee Irving Picard’s lawsuit last year against Weiss and his family never alleged they had actual knowledge of the fraud, according to Weiss. That sets it apart from 19 suits in which Picard claimed defendants knew or should have known of Madoff’s conduct and sought to recoup funds withdrawn beyond the six-year limit, he said.

Weiss asked the judge to remove the case from bankruptcy court, saying it raised a “novel issue” and federal law questions that require a district judge’s ruling.

Weiss and ex-partner David Bershad pleaded guilty to racketeering charges over a client-kickback scheme and left the law firm.

Madoff, 73, is in a federal prison in North Carolina, serving a 150-year sentence for the fraud.

Amanda Remus, a Picard spokeswoman, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

The case is Picard v. M&B Weiss Family Limited Partnership, 10-04241, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).