In what is this decade’s most unique Judiciary Law 487 claim, plaintiff in A.M.P. v Benjamin  2021 NY Slip Op 06589  Decided on November 24, 2021 Appellate Division, Third Department alleged that the deceit was coupled with gender discrimination and bias-related violence.

“As for plaintiff’s thirteenth cause of action, we agree with Supreme Court that [*5]plaintiff has sufficiently pleaded a violation of Judiciary Law § 487. As relevant here, “Judiciary Law § 487 permits recovery of treble damages in a civil action against an attorney who intentionally deceives the court or a party during the pendency of a judicial proceeding” (Lavelle-Tomko v Aswad & Ingraham, 191 AD3d 1142, 1147 [2021]) or who “[w]illfully delays his [or her] client’s suit with a view to his [or her] own gain” (Judiciary Law § 487 [2]). In her thirteenth cause of action, plaintiff alleged, among other things, that defendants deceitfully stated that they would represent her in the matrimonial action “without a fee to her,” but that they later retained her settlement award as a fee. Plaintiff further alleged that Benjamin delayed and prolonged her custody proceeding for his own personal gain and sexual gratification. According the complaint a liberal construction, accepting the allegations contained therein as true and providing plaintiff with the benefit of every favorable inference, we find that plaintiff sufficiently alleged a violation of Judiciary Law § 487 (compare Lavelle-Tomko v Aswad & Ingraham, 191 AD3d at 1147-1148; Krouner v Koplovitz, 175 AD2d 531, 533 [1991]). Accordingly, Supreme Court properly declined to dismiss plaintiff’s thirteenth cause of action.”