Lutin v Perlberger 2024 NY Slip Op 31879(U) May 29, 2024 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 158734/2023 Judge: Dakota D. Ramseur discusses how a plaintiff might claim “extortion” when it really means “harassment” and how “forged” documents might not be enough for a Judiciary Law 487 claim.

“Pro se plaintiff, Gary Lutin (plaintiff), commenced this action for extortion, fraud, and pursuant to Judiciary Law§ 487, against defendants, Ralph Perlberger, the Law Offices of Ralph Perlberger (collectively, the Perlberger defendants), Eric P. Schutzer (Schutzer) and The Schutzer Group, PLLC (collectively, the Schutzer defendants), stemming from Perlberger’s representation of plaintiff in another matter and the Schutzer defendants’ efforts to collect fees from plaitniff due to Perl berger. The Schutzer defendants now move pursuant to CPLR 321 l(a)(l), (5) and (7) to dismiss the complaint. The motion is opposed. For the following reasons, the motion is granted. As relevant to the instant motion, on July 2, 2001, the New York City Civil Court granted Perlberger a $37,043.75 money judgment against plaitniff in the action entitled Perlberger v Lutin, Index No. TS 1781-00/NY (the 2001 Judgment). The 2001 Judgment covered fees plaintiff owed the Perlberger defendants for legal services rendered in two commercial litigations: Lutin v New Jersey Steel Corporation, et al. and D.S. Atkinson, Inc. v Lutin Central Services Co., Inc. The Civil Court simultaneously dismissed plaintiffs counterclaims against the Perl berger defendants for legal malpractice in those matters. On May 24, 2018, Perlberger commenced an action in Supreme Court, New York County entitled Perlberger v Lu tin, Index No. 154885/2018, by the filing of a summons and motion for summary judgment in lieu of complaint, seeking to renew the 2001 Judgment (the Renewal Action). By order dated August 13, 2018, another justice of this court granted Perlberger’ s motion over plaintiffs opposition and directed the parties to settle an order on notice. On June 5, 2019, the County Clerk entered the renewal judgment against plaintiff in the amount of $97.594.11 (Renewal Judgment). On February 25, 2020, plaintiff filed a motion to vacate the Renewal Judgment for lack of jurisdiction. On April 27, 2020, another justice of this court denied the motion. Prior to July 9, 2019, Perlberger retained Schutzer to represent him in connection with efforts to collect the duly entered Renewal Judgment. On July 9, 2019, Schutzer served plaintiff with a copy of the Renewal Judgment and notice of entry, together with a notice to judgment debtor, a restraining notice and an information subpoena (NYSCEF doc. no. 38 at ,r,r 35-36, ex 13 ). Schutzer then emailed the documents to plaintiff on July 30, 2019. On December 6, 2019, Schutzer commenced a special proceeding on behalf of Perlberger in Supreme Court, New York County, entitled Perlberger v Lutin, Index no. 161842/2019, seeking to compel plaintiff and others to respond to outstanding information subpoenas and to impose sanctions. On December 28, 2020, another justice of this court denied both the Petition and plaintiffs cross-motion. On March 16, 2022, Schutzer served a new subpoena for documents and testimony on plaintiff via NYSCEF in the Renewal Action. On May 11, 2022, Schutzer served a new subpoena duces tecum and ad testificandum on plaintiff via NYSCEF in the Renewal Action. On November 16, 2022, Schutzer filed a motion in the Renewal Action seeking to hold plaintiff in contempt for disobeying the May 2022 Subpoena and to compel him to comply therewith. On May 24, 2023, another justice of this court denied the motion for contempt. Plaintiffs complaint alleges that the Schutzer defendants attempted to extort plaitniff with forged records. Plaintiff primarily alleges that the Schutzer defendants used forged documents in the various actions pending before the court, claiming that: “[t]he set of papers were falsely presented as filings in the case of the 2018 Renewal Action, including what appeared to be a Notice of Entry captioned for the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County in the case Perlberger v. Lutin, Index No. 154885/2018, dated 7/9/2019 and signed by Eric P. Schutzer on behalf of the Schutzer Group PL as ‘Attorneys for Plaintiff,’ accompanied by similarly captioned and Schutzer-signed papers captioned as a ‘Notice to Judgment Debtor or Obligor’ and a ‘Restraining Notice.”‘

“Here, plaintiff fails to plead facts stating a claim for both “fraud on the court” and under Judiciary Law§ 487. Plaintiff essentially alleges that the Schutzer defendants falsely claimed they filed certain documents as part of the Renewal Action, and that those statements resulted “[i]n the improper impositions of costs and burdens not only on Plaintiff and the court but also on non-party organizations” and further that the court in the Renewal Action did not “hear evidence of a previous settlement of Perl berger’ s claims.” However, plaitniff fails to allege a deception as to material facts, the Schutzer defendants’ intention to deceive, “[o]r that that [plaintiff] suffered damages that were proximately caused by the alleged deceit” (id. at 776). Again, plaintiff requests that: “If the Complaint does not satisfy the pleading requirements established by that case, or by other relevant cases, Plaintiff requests the Court’s direction to amend the Complaint accordingly.” As discussed in the preceding section, plaitniff failed to provide any factual basis to support his request for leave to amend the complaint, and thus, the request is denied (see JP Morgan Chase Bank, NA. at 582). Accordingly, as plaitniff failed to plead facts suggesting that the Schutzer defendants intentionally deceived plaintiff or the Court or any damages flowing therefrom, plaintiff s claims for “fraud on the court” and under Judiciary Law § 487 are dismissed.”

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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.