Kennedy Funding Financial LLC, the Englewood Cliffs commercial bridge lender run by the Wolfer family, has faced a string of lawsuits from borrowers who paid substantial commitment fees for loans that never closed. The Kennedy Funding lawsuit record includes breach-of-contract findings, a bad-faith ruling upheld on appeal, a Third Circuit remand still awaiting trial, and a mix of rejected fraud claims. Courts have repeatedly ordered the company to refund commitment fees, while stopping short of the broader fraud and punitive theories some borrowers pressed.
Stone Harbor Estates: Bad Faith and a $236,000 Refund
The most consequential case is Stone Harbor Estates, Inc. v. Kennedy Funding Financial, LLC, filed in Bergen County, New Jersey in 2015. Stone Harbor Estates paid a $95,000 commitment fee for financing to buy residential lots. The loan never closed. The borrower brought a ten-count complaint against the company and CEO Kevin Wolfer personally, alleging consumer fraud, common-law fraud, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, tortious interference, and civil conspiracy.1NJ Courts. Stone Harbor Estates v. Kennedy Funding Financial, A-0108-20
Judge Estela De La Cruz found that Kennedy Funding had manipulated the appraisal process to deflate the collateral’s value. According to the court, the company maintained undisclosed communications with supposedly independent appraisers from CBRE and Colliers International, instructing them to lower valuations, treat certain lots as having fewer permits than they actually held, and ignore “as-completed” property values. Kennedy Funding then used those lowered appraisals to justify progressively smaller loan offers, and Stone Harbor’s land-purchase option expired.1NJ Courts. Stone Harbor Estates v. Kennedy Funding Financial, A-0108-20
The court ruled that Kennedy Funding breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and ordered it to return $236,000 in fees. Fraud and civil conspiracy claims failed for lack of proof that the appraisers had agreed with Kennedy Funding to harm Stone Harbor specifically, and lost-profits damages were denied as speculative. Kennedy Funding tried to invoke a limitation-of-liability clause in the loan agreement to cap what it owed. The court refused, citing the company’s “bad motive” and “bad intentions.” On December 20, 2023, the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed in full.1NJ Courts. Stone Harbor Estates v. Kennedy Funding Financial, A-0108-20
The Strand Corporation: Unreasonable Closing Conditions
The Strand Corporation entered a commitment in March 2011 for a $3 million loan, paying $45,000 of an $80,000 commitment fee upfront. The loan never closed by the scheduled date of July 1, 2011. Strand sued, alleging that Kennedy Funding imposed unreasonable post-commitment conditions, including a rent lockbox arrangement the borrower could not control.2NJ Courts. Strand Corporation v. Kennedy Funding, A-4629-13T1
In May 2014, Judge J. Christopher Gibson found that Kennedy Funding had breached the loan agreement and ordered the $45,000 fee returned. The court dismissed Strand’s New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act claim, holding that breach of contract alone does not violate the statute without “substantial aggravating circumstances.” The court enforced the contract’s limitation-of-liability clause, capping Kennedy Funding’s exposure at the paid fee. The Appellate Division affirmed in June 2015, finding “ample credible evidence” supported the trial court.2NJ Courts. Strand Corporation v. Kennedy Funding, A-4629-13T1
Quimera Holding Group: A Blank Schedule and a Third Circuit Remand
A more recent case is still open. In November 2017, Quimera Holding Group SAC, a Peruvian borrower pursuing a real estate project in Peru, signed a commitment with Kennedy Funding for a loan equal to 55% of the appraised value of collateral to be identified in an attached “Schedule C.” That schedule was left blank. The parties later disagreed about which Peruvian properties were supposed to secure the loan.3Casemine. Third Circuit Vacates Summary Judgment in Loan Agreement Dispute Over Collateral Identification
Quimera sued for the return of what it described as hundreds of thousands of dollars in commitment fees, alleging Kennedy Funding refused to fund based on the borrower’s collateral selection. The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey granted summary judgment for Quimera. On February 17, 2025, the Third Circuit vacated that ruling. Circuit Judge Montgomery-Reeves wrote that a “genuine dispute of material fact” existed over which properties the parties had agreed to use as collateral, and that under New Jersey law the blank Schedule C created an ambiguity requiring extrinsic evidence. The case was remanded, and a trial may follow.3Casemine. Third Circuit Vacates Summary Judgment in Loan Agreement Dispute Over Collateral Identification4GovInfo. Quimera Holding Group SAC v. Kennedy Funding Financial LLC, 24-1041
Shelton: Breach Yes, Fraud No
Shelton v. Kennedy Funding, Inc. arose from a $2.2 million bridge loan Kennedy Funding made to funeral business operator Willie Acklin. The loan carried a 10% non-refundable commitment fee and an interest rate that could reach 36%. To secure a priority mortgage position, Kennedy Funding required an estoppel certificate from Virgil Shelton, who held a prior mortgage on the cemetery property (called “Rest in Peace”). Shelton agreed to reduce his mortgage claim to $675,000 in exchange for Kennedy Funding placing that amount in escrow as substitute collateral. When Acklin defaulted, the escrow arrangement collapsed.5U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Shelton v. Kennedy Funding, Inc., 622 F.3d 932
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the breach-of-contract finding. Even though Kennedy Funding never formally signed the estoppel certificate, its conduct — using the document to obtain title insurance, submitting it to the IRS, and including it on the settlement statement — amounted to acceptance. The court reversed the jury’s actual and constructive fraud findings, however. A statement by Kennedy Funding’s local counsel that Shelton would “get all of his money” was a prediction, not a misrepresentation of existing fact. And because both parties were sophisticated creditors dealing at arm’s length, Kennedy Funding owed no special duty of disclosure. The $1.675 million jury award was reduced to $675,000 after the $1 million in punitive damages was vacated.5U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Shelton v. Kennedy Funding, Inc., 622 F.3d 932
Other Cases in the Record
- DLT International LP v. Kennedy Funding Financial (2016). A breach-of-contract suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Settled and dismissed by stipulation in December 2016.6CourtListener. DLT International LP v. Kennedy Funding Financial LLC
- Modica v. Kennedy Funding Financial (2017). Anthony Modica sued under the Truth in Lending Act to recover a $50,000 pre-closing fee. The court granted Kennedy Funding’s unopposed motion for summary judgment, ruling the transaction was commercial rather than personal and outside TILA’s protections, and awarded Kennedy Funding $52,500 on its counterclaim for the unpaid commitment-fee balance.7Casemine. Modica v. Kennedy Funding Fin., LLC
- Isperov v. Kennedy Funding Financial (2020). A fraud suit filed in the Central District of California and transferred to the District of New Jersey, involving $150,000 in alleged damages.8CourtListener. Vladimir Isperov v. Kennedy Funding Financial LLC
- East Fork Investment Group v. Kennedy Funding (2009). A breach-of-contract action in the District of New Jersey that named Kennedy Funding along with Jeffrey, Kevin, and Gregg Wolfer as defendants.9GovInfo. East Fork Investment Group LLC v. Kennedy Funding Inc.
What Courts Have Said About the Broader Pattern
Borrowers have argued that Kennedy Funding’s business model favors collecting non-refundable upfront fees over closing loans. In Professional Cleaning and Innovative Building Services, Inc. v. Kennedy Funding Inc., decided by the Third Circuit around 2009, the plaintiff introduced internal company data showing that roughly 80% of Kennedy Funding’s loan commitments between 2001 and 2006 failed to close.10U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Professional Cleaning and Innovative Building Services v. Kennedy Funding Inc.
The Third Circuit did not treat that number as proof of wrongdoing. Broader lending patterns were not directly relevant to the fraud analysis in that case, and the court cautioned that “the existence of lawsuits assailing Kennedy for its allegedly unseemly business practices should not be confused with evidence of culpability.” Kennedy Funding won.10U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Professional Cleaning and Innovative Building Services v. Kennedy Funding Inc.
Other courts have been sharper about post-commitment conduct in the specific cases before them. The Stone Harbor trial court described Kennedy Funding’s appraisal manipulation as “deep deception.” The Strand court found the closing conditions imposed after the commitment unreasonable and undisclosed. Both cases ended in ordered refunds.
Who Kennedy Funding Is
Kennedy Funding Financial operates as a direct private lender from Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, offering equity-based bridge loans for commercial real estate. The firm reports loans ranging from $1 million to over $50 million and more than $2.5 billion in closed transactions.11Kennedy Funding. Kennedy Funding Financial Completes $1.775 Million Financing Mississippi Leadership is concentrated within the Wolfer family: Kevin Wolfer as CEO, Gregg Wolfer as COO, and Chase Wolfer and Ben Wolfer as loan officers.12Kennedy Funding. Our Team Jeffrey Wolfer has appeared as a named defendant in at least one suit but does not appear among the current leadership on the company’s website.9GovInfo. East Fork Investment Group LLC v. Kennedy Funding Inc. No enforcement actions by the SEC, CFPB, or FTC against the company have been identified in available records.