David Lerner Associates, Inc.

David Lerner Associates, Inc. (DLA) is a privately held securities broker-dealer headquartered at 477 Jericho Turnpike, Syosset, New York. It was founded in 1976 by David Lerner, who remains owner and president; it is not publicly traded and is not a subsidiary of another firm. Company and Wikipedia sources cite roughly 350–400 employees and branch offices in Westport, CT; Teaneck and Lawrenceville, NJ; White Plains, NY; and Boca Raton, FL. Size estimates vary by source: an audited 2017 filing reported total revenues near $53.5M, while third-party aggregators give figures ranging from roughly $50M to $180M; client assets are cited at approximately $5B–$9B. Treat these ranges as estimates.

Operations. DLA is a retail brokerage and investment firm, registered with FINRA (CRD 5397). It sells tax-free municipal bonds, IRAs and retirement planning, life insurance, and variable annuities, and it distributes proprietary "Spirit of America" mutual funds. It has served as exclusive distributor for non-traded REITs (the Apple REIT series) and for energy limited partnerships including Energy 11, L.P. and Energy Resources 12, L.P. It is an operating company, not a patent-holding entity.

Patent-litigation posture. DLA is a pure defendant: 0 plaintiff cases, 2 defendant cases, both in the E.D.N.Y. Both tracked matters are Cedar Lane Technologies Inc. v. David Lerner Associates, Inc. Cedar Lane is a Canadian non-practicing entity that acquires patents (including portfolios originating with Intellectual Ventures) and has filed hundreds of infringement suits, predominantly in plaintiff-friendly venues such as the W.D. Tex. and E.D. Tex.; Stanford's NPE database and Unified Patents both classify it as a PAE. Its filings are typically handled by Rabicoff Law and resolve by settlement.

Notable context. The most recent tracked case, No. 1:26-cv-00183 (E.D.N.Y., filed January 13, 2026), was stayed pending a stipulated extension, then settled: the parties filed a notice of settlement on March 30, 2026, and Judge Ann M. Donnelly dismissed the action on March 31, 2026, with leave to reopen within 60 days. Separately, DLA has a regulatory history, including a $14M FINRA settlement in 2012 over Apple REIT sales and markups, and a $650,000 New Jersey consent order in 2017.