EMERSON—A law firm that represented Emerson Redevelopers Urban Renewal (ERUR) for nearly six years in its long-running legal fight with the borough over the delayed Citizen Emerson Station redevelopment is suing the developer and related entities for more than $1.1 million in unpaid legal invoices.
Sills Cummis & Gross PC, of Newark, filed a civil complaint in Essex County Superior Court (docket No. ESX-L-008763-25) in mid-November, 2025 seeking $1,118,335.24 in unpaid fees and costs, according to court filings.
In late December, the firm filed a notice of default against Accurate Builders LLC and related entities after receiving no response to the complaint, filings show.
ERUR is a subsidiary of Accurate Builders LLC. [Editor’s note: Accurate’s website still lists Emerson’s four-story redevelopment as “under construction,” and specifies “Year built: 2021.” The company’s page formerly listing its management team is bare but for section headings: May Equities (financial); Accurate (construction), and 21 Glen Management.]
The complaint includes five counts, including breach of contract and a count described as “Veil Piercing/Alter Ego,” in which the firm asks the court to treat the entities as indistinct for liability purposes and, potentially, to reach beyond corporate entities in collecting on the alleged debt.
In that count, the firm alleges that Accurate principal Jack Klugmann “abused the corporate form,” and alleges he “ignores the separate existence of each Defendant entity,” citing, among other claims, a failure to observe corporate formalities and a lack of corporate records.
The firm further alleges that the Accurate entities “are insolvent or virtually insolvent,” and alleges Klugmann, “as the sole managing member,” is in a fiduciary relationship to the firm and other creditors. The complaint alleges he should hold company assets “in trust” for creditors.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
Pascack Press reached out to Klugmann for comment and to Sills Cummis & Gross attorney Michael Crowley, but did not hear back by press time. Local officials largely declined to comment on the immediate implications of the lawsuit.
The downtown redevelopment project — proposed as 147 apartment units and 14,000 square feet of ground-level retail — has been delayed for years amid litigation, disagreements and disputes between the borough and the redeveloper. The project’s proposed 29 affordable units remain unfinished and unoccupied.
Sills Cummis & Gross said the unpaid invoices reflect legal services provided to Accurate Builders LLC across nine matters, including $592,101.50 for matters related to ERUR and Emerson, according to the complaint. The firm said it signed a retainer agreement with Accurate on Feb. 17, 2020, to represent it in litigation involving Emerson.
The lawsuit follows a prior dispute over unpaid legal bills. In October 2024, Sills Cummis & Gross sought to withdraw as counsel for Accurate/ERUR ahead of a planned Superior Court trial involving a disputed $500,000 payment that ERUR withheld from Emerson related to ambulance property deeded to the developer. A Superior Court judge ordered the firm to remain as ERUR’s counsel despite the fee dispute; at the time, no unpaid amount was publicly stated.
In late October 2024, Klugmann told Pascack Press that Accurate Builders was undertaking a “much larger recapitalization” of ongoing projects and that Sills Cummis & Gross would be “made whole” when that deal closed.
In its current complaint, Sills Cummis & Gross seeks judgment for the outstanding fees and costs, plus interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs of suit, “and such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.”
Court records also indicate the complaint was “served successfully” on Rivka Klugmann on Nov. 23, 2025, at 10:19 a.m., and list additional Accurate-related entities served in the case. Essex County Superior Court Judge Richard T. Sules is assigned, and the case lists a 300-day discovery period.
Separately, in mid-November, ERUR filed a Superior Court complaint against Emerson and Mayor Danielle DiPaola alleging the borough has delayed construction of Citizen Emerson Station and the project’s affordable housing component.
Most officials have declined to comment on that lawsuit. (See “No longer economically viable — New suit says borough blocked progress on Block 419 project,” by Michael Olohan, Nov. 24, 2025, thepressgroup.net.)