Traditionally, one pleads:  “If this, then that.”  However, when proposing how persons would have reacted to a specific stimulus, in the legal malpractice setting, one must avoid speculation.  So, attorney was tardy in serving and filing a Notice of Entry.  That gave the other side more time to file a notice of appeal.  Did it make a difference?

Here, no.

“Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Kathryn E. Freed, J.), entered August 6, 2020, which granted defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

This legal malpractice action was properly dismissed. There is no basis other than speculation to support the allegation that, had defendants attorneys, who represented plaintiff client in an underlying action, served notice of entry sooner, the adverse party would not have sought leave to appeal (see Levine v Lacher & Lovell-Taylor , 256 AD2d 147, 149 [1st Dept 1998]).”