Coccia v Liotti  2015 NY Slip Op 04801  Decided on June 10, 2015  Appellate Division, Second Department is a strange case.  Mr. Liotti is a well known legal malpractice defendant.  This legal malpractice case sputtered to a halt after Plaintiff successfully wiped out all of Mr. Liotti’s counterclaims for fees.  We are perplexed.

“In 2003, the plaintiff retained the defendant to represent her in a matrimonial action. The matrimonial action later settled, and the plaintiff, inter alia, received an equitable distribution award of $1.6 million. In 2006, the plaintiff commenced this action against the defendant alleging, inter alia, legal malpractice. Extensive motion practice ensued, resulting in several appeals to this Court. On one of those appeals, this Court, inter alia, modified an order of the Supreme Court entered May 5, 2008, so as to grant those branches of the plaintiff’s cross motion which were for summary judgment dismissing the first, second, and third counterclaims, each seeking to recover outstanding counsel fees (see Coccia v Liotti, 70 AD3d 747).

In August 2013, the defendant moved for a hearing on the issue of counsel fees and for an award of costs and sanctions. The plaintiff cross-moved pursuant to CPLR 3217(b) to voluntarily discontinue the action. In the order appealed from, the Supreme Court denied the defendant’s motion and granted the plaintiff’s cross motion. The defendant appeals from so much of the order as denied his motion.”

We wonder why plaintiff simply gave up.