Schlam Stone & Dolan LLP v Toussie  2020 NY Slip Op 06874 Decided on November 19, 2020 Appellate Division, First Department is an example of how the account stated doctrine works for attorneys.

“Plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment on its account stated claim, as it submitted documentary evidence showing that defendant Robert I. Toussie had “received and retained the invoice[s] without objection” (Perine Intl. Inc. v Bedford Clothiers, Inc., 143 AD3d 491, 493 [1st Dept 2016] [internal quotation marks omitted]). Toussie’s own written statements refute his argument that plaintiff was unauthorized to represent him, and/or that he had objected to plaintiff’s work, when he terminated plaintiff in early October 2018. The termination, which occurred prior to Toussie’s receipt of the relevant invoices, was rescinded by Toussie shortly thereafter. Despite regular correspondence between plaintiff and Toussie during the following months, there is no indication that he objected to plaintiff’s invoices or continued representation. Moreover, defendants’ legal malpractice counterclaims were not sufficiently intertwined with the account stated claim so as to preclude summary judgment (see Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady, LLP v Rose, 111 AD3d 453, 454 [1st Dept 2013], lv denied 23 NY3d 904 [2014]).”