It seems that Lacher & Lovell-Taylor PC were attorneys working for Lloyd’s of London.  They ran into disputes with the carrier, and in this New York county case, not only had to pay back monies, but were also found not to be covered for a malpractice case.  Here the AD determines that a demand for the return of legal fees paid to a law firm is not "legal malpractice."

Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London Subscribing to Policy No. SYN-1000263 v Lacher & Lovell-Taylor, P.C.   2013 NY Slip Op 08112   Decided on December 5, 2013   Appellate Division, First Department 
"Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Anil C. Singh, J.), entered March 26, 2012, which granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment declaring that it was not obligated to defend or indemnify defendants in the underlying estate proceeding, and on its cause of action for reimbursement of its defense costs, and order, same court and Justice, entered October 9, 2012, which, to the extent appealable, granted plaintiff’s motion to modify the order to include summary judgment on its supplemental complaint, and order and judgment (one paper), same court and Justice, entered March 13, 2013, awarding plaintiff the total sum of $166,968.90 in defense costs from defendants, unanimously affirmed, with costs.

A claim for the return of legal fees is not a claim for "damages" in a legal malpractice action, as defined in the professional liability policy issued by plaintiff to defendants (see Shapiro v OneBeacon Ins. Co., 34 AD3d 259, 260 [1st Dept 2006], lv denied 9 NY3d 803 [2007]). In support of each of the causes of action, the complaint alleges only that defendants overbilled their client in the underlying estate proceeding; it does not allege facts tending to show that but for their negligence, they could have achieved a better result for him (see Allstate Ins. Co. v Mugavero, 79 NY2d 153, 162-163 [1992]; Barbara King Family Trust v Voluto Ventures LLC, 46 AD3d 423 [1st Dept 2007]). Moreover, plaintiff reserved its right to seek reimbursement of its defense costs in the event of a finding of no coverage (see American Guar. & Liab. Ins. Co. v CNA Reins. Co., 16 AD3d 154 [1st Dept 2005]). "

 

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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.