Howard Kleinhendler

Lawyer Howard Kleinhendler mounted a failed Democratic primary campaign in 2014 for the 3rd Congressional District in New Jersey. Kleinhendler and his prior firm, Wachtel Missry, are currently fighting claims of legal malpractice and elder abuse for their representation of Allan Applestein, the past owner of 1,000 acres of land in Richmond County, Virginia, known as Fones Cliffs. Applestein alleged that Kleinhendler and his firm took advantage of his Alzheimer's diagnosis and failing mental health to sell the land directly to Kleinhendler and other investors in 2017. The lawsuit, which has been pending since January 2019, was transferred to the Eastern District of New York earlier this year. Attorneys for Kleinhendler and his ex-firm have slammed the lawsuit as an "impermissible shotgun pleading" with numerous defects. Kleinhendler said he denies all wrongdoing and is optimistic that the case will settle soon.