David Benick, ASA Senior Director

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Contact Gavin/Solmonese LLC 1140 Avenue of the Americas 9th Floor New York, NY 10036 o: 646.380.6615 m: 917.751.7571 david.benick@gavinsolmonese.com Education

§ Muhlenberg College, BA – Accounting

§ Lehigh University, MBA – Finance

Memberships & Affiliations

§ American Society of Appraisers (ASA)

§ American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI)

§ New York International Arbitration Center (NYIAC)

§ Lehigh Lawyers Association

Dave Benick is an Accredited Senior Appraiser and certified business valuation expert with over 20 years of experience. Many of his assignments have been performed for a variety of purposes, including disputes, bankruptcy, tax reporting, and management planning. He has extensive experience in estimating damages, lost profits, and other economic calculations in connection with litigation. His engagements include estimating the economic loss from intellectual property infringement and determining the fair value of equity and other business interests in matters involving fraudulent conveyance, dissenting shareholders, IRS disputes, and the unwinding of joint ventures and marital dissolution.

Other damages calculations have included valuation analyses resulting from a variety of causes of action such as breach of contract, business interruption, tortious interference, and breach of fiduciary duty. He has determined the investment value for financial and strategic buyers such as private equity investors when deals are incorrectly valued as a result of fraudulent activity. He has worked in a wide variety of industries, including advertising, chemicals, distribution, financial services (banks, asset managers, insurance), healthcare (hospitals, insurance), hospitality, manufacturing, medical paper, metals, nutraceutical, professional services, real estate, restaurants, retail, technology, and transaction clearing. His typical engagement scope covers reviewing projections, budgets, and performing financial ratio analyses for comparative studies.

Dave’s expert reports have been examined in numerous high-profile trials and arbitrations – domestically, and within the British Court system. He also has delivered testimony to the Securities Exchange Commission and participated as an expert witness for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy on a number of occasions.

Prior to joining Gavin/Solmonese Dave worked for several international accounting and consulting firms in financial advisory, including Deloitte and Grant Thornton.

David Benick, ASA

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Selected Litigation Analytics

Business Interruption § Damascus Bakery, Inc. v. Dennis Elwell, Vincent Massaro, Frank Leanza, Secaucus Municipal

Utilities Authority, The Town of Secaucus et al (Case No: 2:08cv1568): Assisted in calculating the lost profits associated with an alleged failed expansion plan. The analysis involved developing a but-for valuation methodology and calculating the incremental profit margin as well as drafting the expert report.

§ Prepared various valuation analyses in connection with insurance claims associated with the September 11th Terrorist Attack – including Silverstein Properties (World Trade Center buildings) and Viacom (WCBS-TV).

Commercial Litigation – Economic Loss § Various investors against [Madoff Feeder Fund Matters]. A private equity firm allegedly transferred

their assets to Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, Inc. (“BLMIS”) without disclosing the fact that their assets were being invested in BLMIS. The investors claimed that their assets had a certain investment strategy according to the fund’s offering memorandum and were unaware that money was being sent directly to BLMIS. Thus, upon the collapse of the Ponzi Scheme, the investors alleged a loss on investment against the director/officer of the fund. The case involved what would have been the investors’ return had they invested in the strategy as outlined in the offering memorandum. The analysis involved researching certain returns over specified investment horizons and drafting the expert report.

§ G.L.M. Security & Sound, Inc. v. Lojack Corporation (Case No: 10-CV-4701): Assisted in preparing the expert report and developed the lost profits calculation associated with the breach of a distributor agreement. The parties in this matter were in the auto parts distribution industry; thus, the analysis involved preparing an extensive but-for damages methodology, since damages were to be calculated during the downturn in the auto industry.

§ Phoenix Four, Inc. v. BDO Seidman LLP, BDO Mann Judd, BDO Binder and BDO International (Case No: AAA 50 104 T 00396 05): Examined the requirements of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice in connection with the various levels of due diligence for a specific work-product, since a dispute arose over the reliance of limited scope appraisals. Scope of services also included drafting the expert report.

Employment Disputes § D&S Consultants, Inc. v. Jose Ucles, Netcentric Technologies Inc. and Randy Korich (Case No:

MON-L-00041-11): The Plaintiff claimed that certain customers migrated when an officer accepted employment at competitor. The analysis included examining the remaining life and economic benefit of certain customer contracts as well as examining the defense contracting industry at a time in which the market was declining. Assistance was also provided in authoring the expert report.

§ S.J.A. Inc. & Sherry Jacobson v. Bernard Hodes Group Inc. (Case No: 13 117 Y 01712 08): Assisted in critiquing the valuation report offered by the opposing expert that was prepared in connection with a buy-out provision of an executive’s employment agreement.

§ In the Matter of Megan Thode v. Nicholas Ladany, Amanda Carr and Lehigh University (Claim No: C0048cv2010-11525): Assisted in calculating the lost earnings associated with the award of an advanced degree that was allegedly denied without cause. This case included examining various economic reports regarding salaries by profession, geography, and age.

David Benick, ASA

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Intellectual Property Infringement and Valuation § Private International Restaurant Chain: Determined a reasonable royalty rate for the use of the

company’s intellectual property; calculated the lost royalties to the minority shareholders of the entity that held the intellectual property.

§ National Healthcare Insurance Company: Calculated the lost profits in connection with trademark infringement. The analysis involved developing the appropriate incremental profit margin associated with the lost revenues.

§ International Paper Company: Determined the value of certain contracts that were not renewed in connection with alleged unfair competition resulting from the theft of proprietary/confidential information. This matter also involved quantifying the value of certain trade secrets.

§ Purchase Price Allocations: Performed a fair value analysis of certain tangible and intangible assets for financial reporting purposes in connection with a company’s acquisition. Notable intangible assets included customer relationships, developed technology, non-compete agreements, patents and trade name/trademarks. These analyses have been performed for a variety of companies, including but not limited to: Air Products & Chemicals, Inc., Citibank N.A., Federated Investors, Greenwich Associates, Honeywell, Inc., Prudential Financial, Inc., and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.

International Arbitration

§ International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID): Renee Rose Levy de Levi v. The Republic of Peru (Case No: ARB 10/07): Assisted in preparing an expert report that quantified the claimant’s alleged lost development rights associated with 5km of seafront property in Lima, Peru. This engagement included preparing trial exhibits that were presented at The World Bank in Washington, D.C.

§ International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR): Starlight Investments, LLC v. Oceanfresh Seafoods PTY Ltd. (Case No: 50 148T 0029911): Assisted in preparing the rebuttal report regarding the valuation of certain warrants that were to be granted as compensation to the investment banker for securing the alleged financing.

Insolvency & Fraudulent Conveyance § In Re: Nellson Nutraceuticals, Inc., Debtor: Designated as co-consulting expert in a valuation

dispute with respect to confirmation of the plan. Debtor’s original expert was dismissed on a Daubert challenge and attorneys required financial expertise to challenge and critique the assumptions supporting a number of expert reports submitted by the creditors.

§ William Tacon and Alastain Beveridge (in their capacity as Joint Liquidators of Ortland Equities Corporation (in Liquidation)), Claimants v. Pitkin Group Limited, Defendant (Claim No: BVI HCV (CIV) 2010/11): Assisted in preparing the expert report that valued a limited partnership in a fund that was allegedly transferred at a price below fair value. Designated as the consulting expert during trial and developed direct and cross examination questions for Queen’s Counsel while the testifying expert was sequestered.

Marital Dissolution

§ Assisted in valuing a professional services firm for the wife of a prominent and successful attorney in the northeast market. My analysis also included preparing a life-style analysis, developing numerous schedules for many attempts at settlement and explaining the valuation analyses to the judge presiding over the mediation.

David Benick, ASA

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§ Designated the expert in a dispute over the value of marital asset, which included a 25 percent interest in a closely-held oil distribution business. After preparing the rebuttal report, no testimony was required and case settled.

Marketability/Minority Interest Discounts Valuation

§ Fisher East River Associates, LLC v. Solow East River Development Company, LLC (Case No: 600110/09): A dispute arose over the value of a 10 percent interest in a joint venture developed between the named parties. The minority shareholder claimed that its interest should be subject to the appropriate discounts for non-marketable and minority interests. The analysis involved examining various restricted stock studies and pre-IPO studies that studied the impact of liquidity. Assistance was also provided in drafting the various qualitative factors that impact marketability and minority interest discounts for the expert report.

Corporate Valuation

§ Electronic Payments Company: Valued a transaction clearing company for its Board of Directors for purposes of adding another significant shareholder, an international financial institution. This engagement involved advising the board and presenting the valuation conclusion to the stockholders.

Tax Valuation

§ International Tax: Assisted an international waste-water conglomerate based in Europe in connection with an IRS dispute involving a worthless stock deduction for its U.S. subsidiaries. Prepared and delivered responses to panel of IRS agents.

§ Tax Disputes: Aided U.S. Attorneys in the Southern District of New York to examine the amortization benefits associated with value of certain intangible assets (the trade name/mark of a well-known woman’s apparel business).

§ Gift & Estate Tax Administration: Valued many types of closely-held businesses for gift and estate tax planning purposes.