Here is a good example of a “no-damage” claim against an attorney.  The claim fails in this case for two reasons.  The first reason is that plaintiff has not been harmed.  No damages can be pled.  The second reason is that plaintiff cannot really say what the attorney might have done wrong.

Miami Capital, LLC v Hurwitz 2017 NY Slip Op 31925(U) September 12, 2017 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: 150310/2016 Judge: Saliann Scarpulla.

“In 2013, Miami Capital hired Hurwitz to provide legal services for its purchase of real property located at 218 West l l 6th Street, New York, New York (“the property”). The real estate transaction was consummated through two steps. First, the owner of the property, a non-for-profit corporation, Edith Pennamon Apartments Housing Development Fund Corporation (“Seller”), entered into a contract of sale for the property with 1111, Inc. Second, 1111, Inc. assigned all rights in the contract of sale and the property to Miami Capital. The purchase price of the property under the contract of sale was $1,400,000.

After the sale, West Harlem Community Organization, Inc. (“WHCO”) commenced an action against Miami Capital to rescind the purchase of the property and the deed. See West Harlem Communi_ty Organization, Inc. v. Miami Capital, LLC (Index No. 651003/2015). In that action, WHCO argued that the sale must be rescinded because the Seller’s officers failed to obtain approval from the New York State Supreme Court or the New York State Attorney General’s Office, as required under the New York Not-forProfit Corporation Law. In addition, WHCO alleged that Miami Capital knew or should have known that it was necessary to obtain approval for the purchase of the property. Shortly thereafter, Miami Capital commenced this legal malpractice action against Hurwitz. Miami Capital alleges that Hurwitz breached his duty of care by: (i) failing to obtain approval of the sale from New York Supreme Court; (ii) failing to obtain approval of the sale from the New York Attorney General; (iii) failing to comply with New York Not-for-Profit Corporation Law§ 510; (iv) failing to comply with New York Not-forProfit Corporation Law§ 511; and (v) failing to obtain clearance of title exceptions prior to the closing of the transaction. Miami Capital seeks $1,400,000 in damages, plus interest, costs, and attorney’s fees. Hurwitz now moves to dismiss the complaint because: (I) his representation did not fall below the standard of care for a New York attorney; (2) no proximate cause exists between the alleged negligence and damages; and (3) damages are not sufficiently alleged because Miami Capital remains the owner of the property and WHCO’s action against Miami Capital was discontinued.”

“Miami Capital does not plead that it suffered any damages from the WHCO action, which has been discontinued. Instead, the damages alleged by Miami Capital relate to a subpoena issued by the New York Attorney General’s Office. The subpoena seeks a deposition of “a person with knowledge concerning the title insurance for the sale of the Property” as well as documents related to Miami Capital’s purchase of the property. Although Miami Capital has received a subpoena frorn the Attorney General, Miami Capital does not plead any damages that it has suffered resulting from the subpoena or the Attorney General’s investigation. While Miami Capital anticipates that at some point in the future it could be subject to a rescission claim and could possibly lose the property because of the Attorney General’s investigation, at this point in time these alleged damages are purely speculative and not yet ripe. Accordingly, I find that Miami Capital failed to adequately plead damages to support a legal malpractice action. Moreover, Miami Capital does not adequately allege that Hurwitz breached his duty of care as a lawyer. NPCL § 510 requires a not-for-profit corporation to obtain . approval for the sale of substantially all its assets from the New York Supreme Court or Attorney General’s Office. The contract of sale for the property placed that burden on the Seller, requiring the Seller to obtain an order from the New York Supreme Court “[i]n the event that judicial consent is required in order for the Seller as a Not for profit Corporation to transfer and sell the Premises.” 1 . The Seller’s attorney informed Hurwitz by letter dated November 13, 2013 that the Seller “does not need [court] approval because the property is not ‘substantially all’ of our assets and/or real property.” The documents submitte.d thus show that the Seller, not Miami Capital was contractually obligated, to obtain court approval for the transaction if necessary, and that the Seller’s attorney represented to Miami Capital that court approval was not necessary under NPCL § 510. Under these circum~tances, Miami Capital has not adequately plead that Hurwitz breached his duty of care as its lawyer by not obtaining court approval for the sale. For the above stated reasons, Hurwitz’s motion to dismiss Miami Capital’s complaint is granted. “

Print:
Email this postTweet this postLike this postShare this post on LinkedIn
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.