A bitter fight over a $330 million Queens estate has blown up into a high-stakes test of how the borough’s Surrogate’s Court actually does business. In newly filed appellate papers, a longtime judge is accused of running a secret docket and using gag orders in a way that, the filings argue, effectively cut off routine appellate review.
The case centers on the estate of Mohammad Malik, who died in February 2023. Court papers and reporting place the estate’s value at roughly $330 million, and the most recent will reportedly left his only son, 23-year-old Brandon Bishunauth, $25,000 while directing the bulk of the fortune to Malik’s sister, Yasmin Malik, according to New York Focus. Under New York law, challengers note, if that final will is knocked out, the estate could pass to the son instead, a possibility that helps explain why this has turned into something far more explosive than a standard probate dispute.
In his appellate filings, Bishunauth accuses Queens Surrogate Judge Peter J. Kelly of “repeated, purposeful and knowing” violations, claiming the court relied on a separate, non-NYSCEF docket and refused to accept key notices of motion. The papers say that included a cross-motion that was blocked from being uploaded on January 24, 2024. As reported by OMMCOM News, the fight has now landed in the Appellate Division, Second Department, which must decide whether a key decree and the case’s sealing order survive.
Allegations And The Court Record
Transcripts and filings show that in December 2023 Judge Kelly signed an order sealing the case, then entered a decree declaring Malik’s 2023 will “uncontested.” Challengers say that move came even though core confidentiality terms and a written settlement were never nailed down.
Kelly responded in a multi-page written statement, available on DocumentCloud, arguing that he relied on a verbal agreement among the parties and that he wanted the matter wrapped up before the end of the year. Reporting from New York Focus traces the disputed timeline and highlights how sharply the two sides now disagree over what, if anything, was actually finalized.
Political Ties Behind The Courtroom
Layered over the procedural fight is a long-running story about political power in Queens. Investigative reporting and public records show that the law firm Sweeney, Reich & Bolz has for decades served as counsel to the Queens Public Administrator and has held an outsized role in local judicial endorsements. The New York Daily News has detailed the firm’s influence and the millions it has earned from surrogate-court appointments. Challengers argue that history at least creates the appearance of a conflict when lawyers from the same firm appear before the Surrogate’s Court bench.
What Happens Next
The Appellate Division is now being asked to decide whether the way the Surrogate’s Court handled filings and docketing improperly blocked Bishunauth’s right to appeal, and whether the sealing order and decree should be tossed out. OMMCOM News notes that distributions from the estate have already started under the executor. If the appellate judges conclude there were serious procedural or due-process errors, some of that money could theoretically have to be clawed back.
Legal Implications
The filings raise broader questions about how cases are docketed, who can access court records and when judges must step aside. Those issues have real-world consequences for how large estates get resolved in Queens. New York’s judicial-ethics rules say judges must disqualify themselves whenever their impartiality “might reasonably be questioned,” and the state’s published ethics opinions and rules set the framework the appellate panel will use as it reviews the claims. The outcome of this case will help clarify how that recusal and transparency guidance plays out when hundreds of millions of dollars are on the line.
