In Dodenc v Dell & Dean, PLLC 2025 NY Slip Op 00650 Decided on February 5, 2025
Appellate Division, Second Department Plaintiff lost an auto accident case on the question of the Threshold, which is the question of whether plaintiff suffered “serious physical injury” under the insurance law. The No-Fault provisions of the insurance
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 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.
Were They Clients or Not?
Genesis REOC Co., LLC v Poppel 2025 NY Slip Op 30387(U) January 31, 2025 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 156733/2017 Judge: Melissa A. Crane is a well written guide to a common issue. In complex corporate (or hedge fund) transactions, whom does the attorney represent? Here the issue is whether the…
A Complicated Lawyer-Trustee Claim
Peck v Milbank LLP 2025 NY Slip Op 30180(U) January 17, 2025 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 152290/2022 Judge: Andrew Borrok is a claim involving breach of fiduciary duty and violation of Judiciary Law 487. Several issues were recently decided.
“Upon the foregoing documents and for the reasons set forth below…
The Attorney Fee Dispute Arbitration Exception
Xiuwen Qi v Hang & Assoc., PLLC 2025 NY Slip Op 30306(U) January 24, 2025 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 151821/2023 Judge: Mary V. Rosado discusses the exception to mandatory arbitration of attorney fee claims. Here, Plaintiff sued the law firm, and the law firm counterclaimed for fees. Is that counterclaim…
Very Complicated Corporate Transactions and Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Dixie v Scheer 2025 NY Slip Op 30167(U) January 11, 2025 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 654690/2022 Judge: Andrea Masley is a primer on how one corporate entity can take over another. Candidly, the level of detail is greater than can be summarized in this blog. Here are some of the…
When The Battle Moves to In Limine Motions
Mazzone v Alonso, Andalkar & Facherhttp://chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/pdfs/2025/2025_30147.pdf, P.C. 2025 NY Slip Op 30147(U) January 15, 2025 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 152735/2019 Judge: Andrew Borrok is a fascinating look at the pre-trial motion practice and how it can shape a trial.
“Preclusion of evidence that Rosa Mazzone was concerned about…
The Focus Shifts To Successor Counsel
In Amoia v Mandelbaum Barrett, P.C. 2025 NY Slip Op 30175(U) January 17, 2025 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 150936/2024 Judge: Paul A. Goetz, a fairly common scenario is depicted. This oft-repeated trope is found in medical malpractice settings, especially when the need for an expert arises.
In medical malpractice claims…
Gross Negligence in An Accounting Malpractice Case
We have discussed Island Consol. v Grassi & Co., Certified Public Accountants PC 2025 NY Slip Op 30094(U) January 7, 2025 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 451469/2023 Judge: Margaret A. Chan twice now. It’s very unusual to see a “gross negligence” claim make and rarer still to see it upheld.
“In…
More Highlights From An Accounting Malpractice Case
Island Consol. v Grassi & Co., Certified Public Accountants PC 2025 NY Slip Op 30094(U) January 7, 2025 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 451469/2023 Judge: Margaret A. Chan came as somewhat of a surprise to read. Not only did a statute of limitations defense in an accounting malpractice suit fail, but…
A Wealth Of Claims In This Accounting Malpractice Case
Island Consol. v Grassi & Co., Certified Public Accountants PC 2025 NY Slip Op 30094(U) January 7, 2025 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 451469/2023 Judge: Margaret A. Chan came as somewhat of a surprise to read. Not only did a statute of limitations defense in an accounting malpractice suit fail, but…