In Supreme Court the judge, sua sponte, dismissed or declined to consider the Judiciary Law 487 counterclaims. In Matter of Jones Law Firm, P.C. v J. Synergy Green, Inc.
2024 NY Slip Op 05053 Decided on October 15, 2024 the Appellate Division, First Department determined that there is no appellate remedy, even where the AD determined that dismissal of the counterclaims was improper.

“Appeal from order, Supreme Court, New York County (Lyle E. Frank, J.), entered August 2, 2023, which, to the extent appealed from, declined to consider the counterclaims of respondents J. Synergy Green, Inc. Avrohom Y. Sorotzkin, and Yaakov Milstein (respondents) related to alleged violations of Judiciary Law § 487, unanimously dismissed, without costs.

The Judiciary Act § 487 counterclaims interposed in this action involve an inquiry into disputed facts as to whether petitioner Jones Law Firm, P.C. intentionally deceived respondents (see Matter of David H. Berg & Assoc. v Weksler, 193 AD3d 612, 613 [1st Dept 2021]). Petitioner did not seek dismissal of these claims. Consequently, Supreme Court improperly dismissed these counterclaims sua sponte. “Vacating the dismissal order is consistent with the public policy of this State to dispose of cases on their merits (Harwood v Chaliha, 291 AD2d 234, 234 [1st Dept 2002]), and upholds the principle that a trial court’s power to dismiss an action sua sponte should be used ‘sparingly and only in extraordinary circumstances'” (Cooper v Broems, 214 AD3d 497, 497 [1st Dept 2023] [internal quotation marks omitted]; see Ray v Chen, 148 AD3d 568, 569 [1st Dept 2017]; Grant v Rattoballi, 57 AD3d 272, 273 [1st Dept 2008]; see also Myung Chun v North Am. Mtge Co., 285 AD2d 42, 45 [1st Dept 2001]; Mateo v City of New York, 274 AD2d 337, 337 [1st Dept 2000]). However there is no right of appeal from an ex parte order, including an order entered sua sponte (Sholes v Meagher, 100 NY2d 333, 335 [2003]). Under these circumstances, the appropriate remedy is for us to dismiss the appeal.”

Print:
Email this postTweet this postLike this postShare this post on LinkedIn
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.