Franklin Square attorney alleges conflict of interest by Queens surrogate judge influenced LI inheritance dispute

A Queens Surrogate's Court judge failed to disclose for months that his law clerk was dating a Uniondale attorney arguing cases in his courtroom, including one in which an NYPD detective was locked in an inheritance dispute with his Long Island-based sibling, court records show.

The conflict of interest allegations center on Judge Peter Kelly, who until late 2023 had run the Queens Surrogate's Court for more than 14 years, and his principal law clerk and chief legal adviser, Zachary Zayas, whose father is the state court system’s chief administrative judge.

Court records show Zayas, 30, was dating attorney Cheryl Katz, 36, during a period when she represented Sean Hynes, 51, of Bellerose, in an inheritance battle with his sister, Shannon Hynes, 46, of Franklin Square. Zayas and Katz subsequently moved in together.

In early 2023, a Kelly ruling made Sean Hynes the executor of his father’s roughly $2.1 million estate. The ruling also gave Sean Hynes the authority to utilize money from the estate to pay his attorneys.

The judge recused himself from the case after the romantic relationship was uncovered by Shannon Hynes, sending the legal standoff to Surrogate's Court in Staten Island.

Shannon Hynes, herself a marriage law attorney, wants to have Kelly’s motions tossed "due to misconduct, fraud and misrepresentations."

To date, she’s been unsuccessful, with Staten Island Surrogate's Court Judge Matthew Titone ruling against her. She is planning additional motions.

Complicating matters, Joseph Zayas, the state court system’s chief administrative judge, who runs the State Office of Court Administration — essentially Kelly’s boss — is Zachary Zayas’ father.

Allegations of ‘judicial impropriety’

Court documents show Sean Hynes paid nearly $423,000 to three law firms where Katz worked between 2020 and 2024. Since Katz and Zayas lived together, he stood to benefit financially from his girlfriend’s legal work, Shannon Hynes contends.

"This is the very definition of judicial impropriety and preferential treatment," Shannon Hynes said in an interview. "If this is not exposed and corrected, this case will set a very troubling precedent; one that disregards ethical rules, case law and the fundamental principles of justice."

In an emailed statement, Katz, a partner at the law firm of Forchelli Deegan Terrana, denied "any allegations of wrongdoing or unethical conduct. All of my actions and conduct have been carried out in full compliance with the law and ethical standards governing the legal profession ... It cannot be ignored that these allegations are being made by an adversary who has repeatedly been unsuccessful in various courts."

In court papers, Katz said her romantic relationship with Zayas was no secret and that they attended many State Bar Association events together.

Sean Hynes, a detective in the 114th Precinct in Astoria, did not respond to requests for comment.

Angelo Grasso, his new attorney, said his client "categorically denies that the decisions in Surrogate’s Queens were 'influenced' by the relationship between Ms. Katz and Mr. Zayas."

Al Baker, spokesman for the Office of Court Administration, said Judges Zayas and Kelly were prohibited from commenting on Shannon Hynes’ specific allegations because they involve pending legal matters.

"Additionally, Zachary Zayas will not comment on the litigation itself, based on the same prohibition, but categorically denies any allegations of wrongdoing or unethical conduct," Baker said in a statement.

In an emailed statement to Newsday, Kelly said he’s spent years refuting Shannon Hynes’ allegations.

"The results of these intensive, prolonged, and expensive investigations showed I acted properly and in compliance with all governing rules and statutes," Kelly said. "The above has come at a great emotional and financial toll for myself and my family."

Details of the dispute were first reported by New York Focus, a nonprofit online news site.

Inheritance dispute

The case centers on the estate of Richard Hynes, of Bellerose. He was Shannon and Sean’s father, who died on Christmas Day in 2019.

The inheritance battle landed before Kelly, who had been the sole judge overseeing Queens Surrogate's Court. Kelly was elected as a Supreme Court justice in late 2023, leaving his surrogate post.

Shannon Hynes said the case felt amiss from the start, from the limited fact finding and witness depositions to the repeated rulings that favored her brother.

On Feb. 21, 2023, Kelly named Sean Hynes the sole executor of his father’s estate. The judge also denied Shannon Kelly’s motions to dismiss his ruling.

In May 2024, Shannon Hynes, suspicious about the nature of what she described as one-sided rulings, hired a private investigator to follow his brother’s attorney.

The investigator discovered Zachary Zayas and Katz were in a romantic relationship and sharing a home in Massapequa. At the time, neither Zayas, Katz nor Kelly had disclosed the relationship to Shannon Hynes or her attorneys.

After Shannon Hynes’ attorneys brought the relationship to the court, Kelly said he’d been aware the two were living together since late 2023, court transcripts show. Katz said in a sworn affidavit the relationship was disclosed to the judge shortly after it began in June 2023.

"I believe that there was favoritism that took place in this case," Shannon Hynes said. "I believe that there was partiality. And at the very least the appearance of impropriety, which is why the judge had to disclose it and should have immediately recused himself from this case."

Katz notes Titone, the Staten Island judge now hearing the case, has found Shannon Hynes’ allegations lacked merit.

“[Shannon Hynes] has not set forth any evidence of actual bias in the proceedings that were previously before the Queens Surrogate’s Court," Titone wrote in a Jan. 28 ruling denying her request to toss out Kelly’s rulings.

Judge recuses himself

Zayas has clerked for Kelly since 2021, covering most of the Hynes’ case. Shannon Hynes said Zayas was in court for most conferences and appearances in the case.

In May 2024, Kelly recused himself from the case, although by that point the bulk of the issues had already been litigated.

Speaking from the bench on May 30, 2024, Kelly framed his decision to recuse himself as "discretionary" but added: "I don't need the aggravation. The litigants in this case would fight over the time of day if there was a clock on the wall."

The judge added most of his rulings were made before he learned of the relationship and that Zayas had no decision-making authority or influence over the outcome of the case.

"The court attorney at issue became my principal law clerk in ... January of 2024," Kelly said. "He was not involved in anything to do with this case any time prior while he was just a ... junior court attorney."

But during the time Kelly said he was aware of the relationship, the judge issued several crucial rulings that favored Sean Hynes, including on a motion to remove him as executor of the estate, records indicate.

Katz, in a January 2024 email to Shannon Hynes’ attorney, bragged his client had lost "every single proceeding/allegation that she has ever commenced against my client."

The complicated entanglements in the case run even deeper.

In March 2024, Judge Joseph Zayas appointed Katz to serve on the statewide Surrogate’s Court Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations about the court’s operating procedures. Earlier this year, Judge Zayas appointed Kelly to co-lead the committee.

In 2024, Shannon Hynes said she filed a complaint against Kelly with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, which investigates allegations of wrongdoing by the judiciary.

Marissa Harrison, a spokeswoman for the commission, told Newsday "complaints are confidential unless a judge has been publicly disciplined. Accordingly ... I cannot confirm, deny or comment on the existence of a complaint."

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.