U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Morris Stern Dies

New Jersey Bankruptcy Judge Morris “Mickey” Stern, died Wednesday after battling cancer for more than a year. He was 72.

Judge Stern—called “Mickey” by colleagues—became a judge in 2001 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark, N.J., where he presided over the bankruptcy cases for Bayonne Medical Center and for St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic. He also handled the bankruptcy of Real Housewives star Teresa Giudice in 2010.

Fellow Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan said that his colleague was a practical judge who was thorough with his decisions. Judge Kaplan recalled a time when Judge Stern wrote nearly 100 pages in an opinion on whether motor vehicle surcharges were dischargeable in bankruptcy.

“There never was an issue he’d look at superficially,” Judge Kaplan told The Wall Street Journal, adding that Judge Stern’s detailed and analytical opinions “put a lot of us to shame.”

Bankruptcy industry professionals echoed that.

“When you went in front of Mickey Stern, you knew that he read everything,” said Kenneth A. Rosen, a partner in Lowenstein Sandler LLP’s bankruptcy practice, who added that he was passionate about pro bono work.

Prior to taking the bench, Judge Stern focused on commercial litigation and transactions as a partner in the law firm of Stern, Dubrow, and Marcus for thirty years, first in South Orange and then in Maplewood.

The judge graduated from Weequahic High School in Newark in 1958 and earned an industrial engineering degree from Lafayette College in 1962.

Judge Stern graduated from the Rutgers University School of Law, where he later returned to teach classes on commercial law. On the school’s website, former dean Peter Simmons called Judge Stern one of the school’s “most memorable colleagues.”

“His classes were among our most popular electives, and his brilliance, practical wisdom and grace earned respect and appreciation from all who knew him. Those who believe that the law is both a learned and human profession have lost a true friend and leader.”

Judge Stern and his wife, Ronnie, were married for 51 years. He leaves behind a son, a daughter and three grandchildren.

Per his obituary: A memorial service will be held at Bernheim Apter Kreitzman Funeral Home on Tuesday, February 18 at 2:00 p.m.  Contributions in Judge Stern’s memory may be made to the Columbia High School Scholarship Fund (CHSSF), Ben Stern Memorial, P.O. Box 315, Maplewood, NJ 07040, or to a charity of your choice.

-Joseph Checkler contributed to this report.

Write to Katy Stech at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @KatyStech.