Professionals are often sued in both tort and contract.  So what is the difference?  One is a general wrong to the public and one is a specific wrong to a contracting party.  Judge Scarpulla discusses the issue in City of New York v Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc.
2017 NY Slip Op 31906(U)  September 7, 2017  Supreme Court, New York County  Docket Number: 452725/2014.  The case involves fireboats.

“This action arises out of the alleged defective design and construction of two fireboats, 343 and Firefighter II, for the Fire Department of New York (“FDNY”). In July 2005, FDNY contracted with RTL, an engineering firm, to design and oversee the construction of the fireboats, and selected ESG to complete the construction. Though no longer a defendant in this action, AMSEC, LLC (“AMSEC”) agreed with FDNY in May 2008 to act as the “owner’s representative.” The City formally accepted delivery of fireboats 343 and Firefighter II in 2010 after completing sea trials and final inspection. In 2014, both fireboats were taken from service and dry-docked for inspection and defect correction. The City alleges that the fireboats were a major investment for FDNY, and numerous design and construction flaws, including a lack of corrosion prevention measures, have caused severe and premature damage to the fireboats. To address the fireboats’ design and construction flaws, the City attests that it has spent nearly two million dollars in costs and repairs and expects to spend another million dollars in · additional necessary costs and repairs. ”

“Generally, “[ w ]here the plaintiff is merely seeking the benefit of its agreement, it is limited to a contract claim.” Dormitory Auth. Of State v. Samson Const. Co., 137 A.D.3d 433, 434 (1st Dep’t 2016). “Where, however, the particular project … is so affected with the public interest that the failure to perform competently can have catastrophic consequences; a professional may be subject to tort liability as well.” Id. (citations and quotations omitted). Here, there is a factual question whether the fireboats at issue were so affected with the public interest that RTL’s alleged failure to comply with the relevant standards could result in catastrophic consequences. RTL’s assertion that the fireboats merely failed to perform as anticipated does not eliminate the issue of fact of whether accessible fireboats to address an issue, e.g., a fire on the City waterfront, could have catastrophic consequences. “

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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.