Outgoing Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling gave short shrift to Plaintiff’s argument that Defense counsel had committed a violation of Judiciary Law § 487.  The judge let plaintiff know that enough was enough on this “perjury” thing.  Anyway, read it in  Manhattan Telecom. Corp. v Jackson  2014 NY Slip Op 32053(U)   February 24, 2014   Sup Ct, New York County   Docket Number: 111319-2010  Judge: Milton A. Tingling

 

“The plaintiff moves for an Order seeking the recusal of this Court from the action, and pursuant to CPLR 2221 leave to renew and reargue a prior motion by movant and upon such renewal and/or reargument granting the relief sought and granting such other further and different relief as to this Court may seem just. This Court has made errors in this case. One was being led to believe, after an on off the record conversation with plaintiffs’ counsel in open court that this matter was over. Second, the defendants motion to dismiss the first amended complaint filed in July 2011 should have been granted. As previously stated, this entire matter stems from plaintiffs’ counsel’s fixation on the alleged perjury by defendant in connection with a motion to change venue in a prior action. That action was Manhattan Telecommunications Corp. v. Beauty Pools, Inc., 116386-2008 in which Rachel Jackson was counsel for defendant.

Plaintiffs’ counsel alleged she perjured herself in bringing the motion pursuant to CPLR 511.  The word has consumed this litigation ever since. Perjury, perjury, perjury. Special Affirmation by (Mr. Bachrach) as to perjury by Defendants and Affirmation entitled Perjury or Betrayal. Although the Motion was DENIED, Mr.  Bachrach was incensed. He brought an action against Jackson individually alleging a violation of .Judiciary Law 487. Although the underlying case was settled for less than the minimum monetary jurisdiction of this court, Mr. Bachrach has pursued this action like Sherman marching to the sea. Ignoring the diatribes, monologues, accusations and verbal attacks, the rub here is that there is no action to go forward. Although couched in the language of a .Judiciary Law 487 action, this case is about alleged perjury. As a general rule, there is no civil cause of action for perjury in the State of New York. See Newin Corp. v Hartford Accident and Indemnification Co. 37 N.Y.S.2d 211 and Aufrichtig etc v Lowell 85 N.Y.S.2d 540.

The amended complaint alleges a violation of Judiciary Law sect 487 in that based upon the prior change of venue motion Defendant was guilty of deceit and consented to deceit or collusion with intent to deceive the Court and Plaintiff. .Judiciary Law sect 487 states a cause of action against an attorney who is guilty of any deceit or collusion, or consents to any deceit or collusion with intent to deceive the court or any party.

The application of 487 is constricted to cases where the defendant is found to have intentionally engaged in a chronic, extreme pattern of delinquency, See Havel v Islam  A.D.2 210 and .Jaroslawicz v Cohen 12A.D.3d 160, 161. Here, assuming the allegations of the complaint to be true the Court finds as a matter of law the complaint does not establish  a chronic extreme pattern of delinquency.

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Andrew Lavoott Bluestone

Andrew Lavoott Bluestone has been an attorney for 40 years, with a career that spans criminal prosecution, civil litigation and appellate litigation. Mr. Bluestone became an Assistant District Attorney in Kings County in 1978, entered private practice in 1984 and in 1989 opened…

Andrew Lavoott Bluestone has been an attorney for 40 years, with a career that spans criminal prosecution, civil litigation and appellate litigation. Mr. Bluestone became an Assistant District Attorney in Kings County in 1978, entered private practice in 1984 and in 1989 opened his private law office and took his first legal malpractice case.

Since 1989, Bluestone has become a leader in the New York Plaintiff’s Legal Malpractice bar, handling a wide array of plaintiff’s legal malpractice cases arising from catastrophic personal injury, contracts, patents, commercial litigation, securities, matrimonial and custody issues, medical malpractice, insurance, product liability, real estate, landlord-tenant, foreclosures and has defended attorneys in a limited number of legal malpractice cases.

Bluestone also took an academic role in field, publishing the New York Attorney Malpractice Report from 2002-2004.  He started the “New York Attorney Malpractice Blog” in 2004, where he has published more than 4500 entries.

Mr. Bluestone has written 38 scholarly peer-reviewed articles concerning legal malpractice, many in the Outside Counsel column of the New York Law Journal. He has appeared as an Expert witness in multiple legal malpractice litigations.

Mr. Bluestone is an adjunct professor of law at St. John’s University College of Law, teaching Legal Malpractice.  Mr. Bluestone has argued legal malpractice cases in the Second Circuit, in the New York State Court of Appeals, each of the four New York Appellate Divisions, in all four of  the U.S. District Courts of New York and in Supreme Courts all over the state.  He has also been admitted pro haec vice in the states of Connecticut, New Jersey and Florida and was formally admitted to the US District Court of Connecticut and to its Bankruptcy Court all for legal malpractice matters. He has been retained by U.S. Trustees in legal malpractice cases from Bankruptcy Courts, and has represented municipalities, insurance companies, hedge funds, communications companies and international manufacturing firms. Mr. Bluestone regularly lectures in CLEs on legal malpractice.

Based upon his professional experience Bluestone was named a Diplomate and was Board Certified by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys in 2008 in Legal Malpractice. He remains Board Certified.  He was admitted to The Best Lawyers in America from 2012-2019.  He has been featured in Who’s Who in Law since 1993.

In the last years, Mr. Bluestone has been featured for two particularly noteworthy legal malpractice cases.  The first was a settlement of an $11.9 million dollar default legal malpractice case of Yeo v. Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman which was reported in the NYLJ on August 15, 2016. Most recently, Mr. Bluestone obtained a rare plaintiff’s verdict in a legal malpractice case on behalf of the City of White Plains v. Joseph Maria, reported in the NYLJ on February 14, 2017. It was the sole legal malpractice jury verdict in the State of New York for 2017.

Bluestone has been at the forefront of the development of legal malpractice principles and has contributed case law decisions, writing and lecturing which have been recognized by his peers.  He is regularly mentioned in academic writing, and his past cases are often cited in current legal malpractice decisions. He is recognized for his ample writings on Judiciary Law § 487, a 850 year old statute deriving from England which relates to attorney deceit.