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# Judge sets conditions for lawyer defending collector in Eden Fine Art lawsuit
- URL: https://www.urgentmatter.press/judge-sets-conditions-for-lawyer-defending-collector-in-eden-fine-art-lawsuit/
- Published: 2026-10-07T01:00:38.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-07T01:00:38.000Z
- Description: A federal magistrate judge admitted the attorney to the case on October 1 but wrote that the court could revoke that permission.
- Author: Adam Schrader
- Tags: Law and Crime, #public-access

A federal magistrate judge in New Jersey allowed a New York lawyer to defend the collector Eden Fine Art says owes $822,390, with conditions tied to a disciplinary matter the lawyer disclosed.

The lawyer, Saadia Shapiro, identified that matter by the case number of a federal lawsuit in Manhattan over $2 million paid for medical gloves, court records show. In December 2024, a judge entered a $2.78 million judgment against Shapiro and his company, Paz Global Ventures.

U.S. Magistrate Judge José R. Almonte granted Shapiro's admission on October 1\. He wrote that the court could revoke it if the disciplinary matter ends in "findings of professional misconduct, dishonesty, unethical or unscrupulous conduct," court documents show.

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Shapiro, of the White Plains firm Shapiro & Associates, represents Jacob Shochat of Mahwah, New Jersey. Eden Fine Art sued Shochat in July in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, as [ARTnews](https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/new-york-gallery-eden-suing-collector-unpaid-invoices-1234794788/?ref=urgentmatter.press) reported in August.

Shapiro disclosed the disciplinary matter in a sworn certification filed September 17\. He wrote that it is pending in the "Supreme Court of New York, First Judicial Department" and is brought by the Attorney Grievance Committee for the First Judicial Department.

"The matter involves a transaction that occurred in 2020, in which no funds of any kind were received or taken by me," Shapiro wrote.

He wrote that the matter is the subject of a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court dated August 21, 2026, "alleging a claim of judicial misconduct of the arbitrator." His certification does not describe the allegations against him or explain how the disciplinary matter relates to the Manhattan lawsuit.

MSV Synergy, an importer of protective equipment, and Mark Barron, a professional football player who finances it, sued Shapiro, his law firm, Paz Global and others in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in September 2021, [court records](https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/60377300/msv-synergy-llc-v-shapiro/?ref=urgentmatter.press) show.

MSV wired $2 million to the trust account of Shapiro's law firm on October 30, 2020, to be held until 250,000 boxes of medical gloves were delivered, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos wrote in a December 2024 opinion. 

The opinion said the money was released to Shapiro in December 2020 and that MSV never received gloves that met the contract.

Shapiro wired $992,000 and $983,000 of it to Glover Court Pty Ltd, an Australian company that imports protective equipment from Asia, the opinion said.

After Barron's lawyer demanded the money back in May 2021, Shapiro offered MSV seven shipments of gloves that June and July. MSV turned them down, the opinion said.

The court sent the dispute to arbitration in September 2022 at the request of Shapiro, his firm and Paz Global. The arbitrator ruled for MSV and Barron on June 3, 2024, and found that "the evidence is overwhelming that Shapiro was personally involved in a fraud in which MSV/Barron were the victims."

Shapiro, representing himself, and Paz asked Ramos to throw out the award. They argued the arbitrator went beyond her authority, and they called the award "a total 'ambush.'"

They also wrote that "Paz, like 67 other plaintiffs, were victims of a massive fraud that was perpetrated by the owners and operators of the factory in China that was tasked with manufacturing the Gloves."

Ramos confirmed the award on December 2, 2024, and rejected their request. His December 11 judgment totals $2,784,606.61, including $642,082.19 in interest.

A notice of appeal was filed in January 2025\. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the judgment on January 30, 2026.

In July, Justice Sonia Sotomayor gave Shapiro until August 21, 2026, to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. The court's [online docket](https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/26A53.html?ref=urgentmatter.press) does not list a petition.

Shapiro and Paz were also in a separate glove dispute in New York state court. In 2021, they asked a Manhattan judge to move an arbitration brought by glove buyer GP Trading Partners from Los Angeles to New York.

State Supreme Court Justice Arlene Bluth denied the request in November 2021\. Shapiro and Paz appealed to the Appellate Division's First Department, where they filed the appeal in March 2022, records show.

Almonte's order requires Shapiro to promptly tell the court how the disciplinary matter is resolved. He must also report any developments that could bear on his fitness to practice before the court, and any new disciplinary case.

Shochat's New Jersey lawyer, Raphael M. Rosenblatt of Rosenblatt Law PC in Hackensack, asked the court to admit Shapiro on September 17.

"Mr. Shapiro has a long-standing relationship with the Defendant Mr. Shochat and thus has unique knowledge of the facts and circumstances underlying this matter," Rosenblatt wrote.

Eden's lawyer, Avram E. Frisch, consented to Shapiro's admission, documents show.

Under the order, Rosenblatt must sign everything filed on Shochat's behalf and is responsible for Shapiro's conduct in the case. Shapiro may take part only after he pays a $250 fee to the court clerk, and the order gives him 14 days to do so.

The clerk's office flagged a problem with Shapiro's paperwork the day after it was filed. A September 18 notice on the docket said his certification carried an electronic signature he was not permitted to use and asked that he resubmit it with a scanned or handwritten signature.

A copy of the docket updated October 5 does not show a resubmitted certification. It also does not show that Shochat has answered the complaint or that Eden has filed proof he was served.

The complaint says Shochat began ordering artworks and sculptures from Eden around 2018\. It says the gallery delivered them on credit, sometimes in person, because he had paid for earlier purchases in installments.

On August 3, 2023, the two sides confirmed in a message exchange that Shochat's open balance was $900,000 and discussed a payment schedule, the complaint says.

Shochat wrote to the gallery on July 21, 2024, acknowledging he had received pricing for the works he bought and asking for certificates of authenticity and appraisals, the complaint says. That September, he asked for statements of his accounts.

Gallery representatives Guy Martinovsky and Miriam Taplitzky sent Shochat a consolidated statement on July 29, 2025, putting his balance at $822,390 after his payments, the complaint says. It says the statement was also sent by message on August 27, 2025, and that Shochat "received and read" it.

The complaint lists nine of the gallery's sales order numbers for Shochat but does not name any of the artworks or artists.

It says some of the works were sold through gallery companies that share ownership with Eden, and that those companies assigned their claims to Care Creations Inc., which does business as Eden Fine Art.

The complaint makes three claims: that Shochat accepted the balance by keeping the gallery's statements without objecting, that the gallery's own ledger shows the debt and that he broke his agreements to pay.

Eden describes itself in the complaint as "a small family owned gallery that simply does not have the wherewithal to withstand the losses caused by the Defendant."

The gallery seeks $822,390 plus interest, costs and attorney fees, and has asked for a jury trial.

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