Case: Litman v. Goldberg, Index No. 524343/2025 Court: NY Sup. Ct., Kings County — Hon. Brian L. Gotlieb, J.S.C. Claim: Count V — NY Civil Rights Law §§ 50-51 (Misappropriation of Name) Source: 71 emails from uncle's personal Gmail accounts (rclitman@gmail.com, richielitman@gmail.com) Analyzed: April 2, 2026
Lev Dvorkin (Sept 18, 2025) — Israeli client writes directly to Goldberg:
"I turned to your firm, Nath, Goldberg & Meyer, for the preparation and registration of my new patent solely for the reason that Mr. Richard Litman works with you. I first met him back in 1996, when I approached his firm, Litman Law Office, to prepare and register my very first patent."
Goldberg responded "Yup. On it." — accepted the work while litigation was pending. Email sent to rclitman@gmail.com, CC'd rlitman@nathlaw.com.
Thomas Bennington (July 3, 2025) — NGM website contact form:
"a customer of Richard Litman's from way back... I thought the world of Mr. Litman."
Omar Albannai (Aug 17, 2025) — Kuwaiti client WhatsApp:
"Why not you?" / "Are you fine?" / "I'm thinking of 'ditching' you" / "The problem I cannot" / "You are my like my sole mate" / Voice message: "East or west Richard is the best so you are unplaceable to me"
Uncle forwarded Omar screenshots directly to Goldberg's lawyers (Leo Hurley & Aaron Gould at Connell Foley) on Aug 16-17, 2025 with the note: "I know Josh is counting on relationships in Kuwait. Omar was key to many of those relationships. Please pass on to Josh."
Legal significance: Three independent clients proving Litman's name has active commercial drawing power. Dvorkin is the clearest — "solely for the reason that Mr. Richard Litman works with you." Each proves the § 51 "for purposes of trade" element. Goldberg's acceptance of Dvorkin's work while in litigation shows continuing exploitation.
Litman to Goldberg (June 10, 2025):
"We should discuss doing what is needed to reflect my being no longer with the firm such as taking me off the website, etc. We will need to make sure there is no confusion that I am still working with the firm."
The nathlaw.com website STILL showed Litman as "PATENT ATTORNEY" on June 21, 2025 (Wayback CDX verified). Goldberg ignored the demand for at least 11 days, likely longer.
Legal significance: Establishes written notice + deliberate refusal to remove name. Destroys any "inadvertent" or "couldn't have known" defense. Combined with existing June 24 and June 28 objections, this creates a chain of four demands in a single month.
OpenGov Procurement account activated September 2, 2025 for:
"Joshua Goldberg litman@4patent.com"
Goldberg registered for a government procurement platform using Litman's personal professional email address for his own activities.
Legal significance: Literal name/identity misappropriation. Goldberg is not just using Litman's name on patents — he is using Litman's email identity for his own commercial purposes. This is a separate § 51 violation.
Litman to Goldberg (June 26, 2025, in response to benefits termination notice):
"That is the answer that gets you into litigation. Once that occurs, there's no going back. I hope it doesn't put an end to the firm or your career. Now that you have the information from Debbie Schaeffer, and now that you are terminating my employment and affiliation as of June 30, I calculate seven figures owed. The burden is on you to make the payment and to have accurate calculations and most importantly to follow the award by Judge Horne."
Also references: "I won't go into the issues about the misrepresentations that you made to the arbitrator."
Legal significance: - Establishes June 30, 2025 as formal termination date - Documents seven-figure damages claim in real-time - References arbitrator misrepresentations - Shows benefits termination was the trigger for litigation
June 26, 2025 — Heba K. Carter (GCPC, representing NGM):
"This is formal notice that the Agreement has not been renewed or reinstated. Just as the arbitration order indicated, the Agreement..."
July 4, 2025 — Litman to Heba Carter:
"I am interpreting your lack of responsiveness in your replies as your personal confirmation about your knowledge of NGM's use of my name and the Senior Counsel designation continuously from April 2017 through June 2025, followed by the subsequent alteration at the end of June 2025 to 'Retired.'"
Also flags: "unusual handling in the trust and operating account regarding King Saud University (KSU), King Faisal University (KFU), Kuwait University and other LOCs, specifically addressing the complex financial routing of their accounts and handling of transactions, resulting in payments owed to me not reflected in this audit, and possibly something more serious."
Heba responds: "You certainly should not interpret it that way. You should not assume anything."
Legal significance: NGM's own counsel was on notice of the name-use claim AND the financial irregularities. The non-denial reads as evasion. "Senior Counsel designation continuously from April 2017 through June 2025" is an explicit timeline statement.
Litman to Goldberg's lawyers (Jan 30, 2026):
"I do not have access to patent filings tied to NGM's USPTO Customer Number 37833 — a USPTO account used for processing, prosecution and issuance activities that resulted in issued patents bearing my name."
Requests either: (1) direct access to CN-37833 records, or (2) a report of all uses of his name through that account "including any additions, modifications, or removals relating to use of my name."
Goldberg's lawyers refused.
Legal significance: Documented discovery obstruction. Supports motion to compel. Shows Goldberg is hiding the full scope of name use.
Three separate emails sent to Connell Foley with Zoom credentials for Goldberg's deposition. Final warning:
"I will open the record at 10:00 AM today February 24, and note your default on the record at 10:30 AM if Defendant fails to appear. Following this, I will seek appropriate relief. Govern yourselves accordingly."
Goldberg did not appear.
Legal significance: Deposition obstruction. Supports sanctions motion and adverse inference. Depositions are due June 2, 2026 — time is running out.
Q4 2025 financial reconciliation produced by Goldberg's own lawyer (Aaron Gould, Connell Foley, Jan 23, 2026). 17 attachments including Litman 2025 Summary through December.
Key numbers: | Period | Collected Fees | Owed to Litman | |--------|---------------|----------------| | Oct 2025 | $628,332 | $125,666 | | Nov 2025 | $328,711 | $65,742 | | Dec 2025 | $276,098 | $55,220 | | Q4 2025 Total | $1,233,141 | $246,628 |
Revenue still flowing on Litman-originated clients through December 2025. The 20% formula applied throughout.
Also notable: October 2024 was the peak month at $1,285,599 in collected fees ($257,120 owed). Revenue dropped from that peak to $276K/month by Dec 2025 — possible evidence of business deterioration as Litman was pushed out.
Legal significance: Goldberg's own counsel produced these numbers. The name use generated $1.2M in collected fees in Q4 2025 alone. This is direct evidence of commercial exploitation of Litman's name through the end of 2025.
Goldberg writes to KFU VP Prof. Al-Lily: "On behalf of the firm I express my congratulations for this remarkable achievement" — KFU ranked #1 globally with 631 US patents in 2024. All 467 through NGM listed Litman on Line 74.
Uncle requests "a list of all clients assigned to my Attorney number 418" — confirms internal tracking system keyed to Litman. Also asks about KFU, KSU, Kuwait University, and Jouf University balances.
Uncle: "I am glad I was able to help with the $2 million in KSU payments" — proves uncle personally generated major revenue even after the supposed "termination."
Litman's attorney to NGM's counsel: "So I take it that Richard can expect to receive the $1,250,000 the firm o..." — pre-arbitration magnitude of debt.
Uncle routing a LinkedIn trademark prospect to Goldberg: "Should I tell her to contact Howard or you?" — business still flowing through Litman's name/network after litigation started.
Robert Scully to Heba Carter ON THE DAY OF ARBITRATION: "$140,000 purportedly due" but "notably absent" was the Client Accounting summary. Ongoing accounting dispute.
Valencia Gray confirms $13,624.89 in KSU trust. Attached: 2.4MB Middle East Statements PDF covering all Middle Eastern client accounts.
$43,872.75 and $77,137.00 international wire transfers from United Arab Emirates University — Litman-originated client still generating revenue in Jan 2025.
Goldberg: "I am so, so sorry to hear Cheryl is in the ICU." Documents health insurance leverage in real-time while Goldberg controls COBRA benefits.
Two official USPTO trademark notifications (BHC Management) still CC'd to rlitman@nathlaw.com — AFTER the account was supposedly eliminated July 18, 2025.
Litman proposing GCC client development strategy including radio-style interviews with university professors. Shows active involvement in business development tied to his name and relationships.
| Exhibit | Description | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Dvorkin Email | "Solely because Richard Litman" — Sept 18, 2025 | rclitman@gmail.com |
| Omar WhatsApp Screenshots (x3) | "East or west Richard is the best" — Aug 17, 2025 | Actual_Harm.eml attachments |
| Omar Screenshots to Counsel | Forwarded to Hurley/Gould — Aug 17, 2025 | rclitman@gmail.com |
| Kuwait Opportunity Email | Uncle routing Omar to Goldberg's lawyers — Aug 16, 2025 | rclitman@gmail.com |
| June 10, 2025 Website Demand | "Taking me off the website" | Accounting Data Request #2 |
| OpenGov/litman@4patent.com | Goldberg using Litman's email — Sept 2, 2025 | OpenGov notification |
| June 26, 2025 Litigation Trigger | "Seven figures owed" | Upcoming Benefits Change |
| Heba Carter Correspondence | NGM counsel on notice — June 26 & July 4, 2025 | rclitman@gmail.com |
| CN-37833 Access Demand | Jan 30, 2026 | rclitman@gmail.com |
| Deposition Default Emails (x3) | Feb 24, 2026 | rclitman@gmail.com |
| Q4 2025 Financial Reconciliation | $246,628 owed — 17 attachments | Via Aaron Gould, Connell Foley |
| Litman 2025 Summary | Complete spreadsheet through Dec 2025 | Via Aaron Gould |
| Element | Impact |
|---|---|
| Use of Name | Dvorkin email: "solely for the reason that Mr. Richard Litman works with you." Three independent clients + OpenGov email. |
| For Purposes of Trade | Q4 2025: $1.2M in collected fees. Revenue flowing through Dec 2025 on Litman-originated clients. |
| Without Consent | June 10, 2025 demand to remove from website adds to chain of non-consent (now 5 written objections). |
| Causation | Goldberg personally took Dvorkin's work ("Yup. On it.") while litigation pending. CN-37833 access refused. |
| Damages | $246K Q4 2025 owed. Financial records extend damages through Dec 2025. Three clients documenting actual confusion/harm. |
Prepared April 2, 2026 — Litman Intelligence