The claims in the complaint are striking. Claims that a 90-year old was pushed into a guardianship, was wrested from her home of 70 years, was defamed and was the recipient of extreme emotional distress did not state a cause of action for violation of Judiciary Law 487.
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.
More Lessons From an Unusual Case
Generally speaking, legal malpractice cases are styled as legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract. in Kohler v West End 84 Units LLC 2024 NY Slip Op 34215(U) November 26, 2024 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 654985/2023 Judge: Lyle E. Frank, there were additionally anti-Slapp issues, defamation, fraud…
A Large Number of Unusual Claims Survive Dismissal Motion
Typically legal malpractice claims are limited to a triumvirate which include Legal Malpractice, Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Breach of Contract. Often, the Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Breach of Contract claims are dismissed as “duplicitive” of the Legal Malpractice claim.
Kohler v West End 84 Units LLC 2024 NY Slip Op 34215(U) November 26…
Denial Upheld On Appeal
We reported on this case when Supreme Court denied dismissal. Now the AD has affirmed in Postiglione v Sacks & Sacks, LLP 2024 NY Slip Op 06070 Decided on December 4, 2024.
“In an action to recover damages for legal malpractice, the defendants appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Karen B.
Within The Scope of Representation or Not?
Berger v Lewis Johs Avallone Aviles, LLP 2024 NY Slip Op 05952 Decided on November 27, 2024 Appellate Division, Second Department makes the point that it is not necessary to specifically allege that the alleged malpractice “fell within the agreed scope of defendant’s representation”, although it is necessary that the actual scope of representation encompasses…
Conclusory or Material?
In D’Adamo v Cohen 2024 NY Slip Op 05956 Decided on November 27, 2024
Appellate Division, Second Department a legal malpractice case was dismissed because the allegations were too “conclusory,”
“In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for legal malpractice, the plaintiffs appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Alexandra D.
Plaintiff Actually Stated a Cause of Action
In a relatively rare reversal of Supreme Court’s CPLR 3101 dismissal of a legal malpractice case, the Appellate Division, Second Department reversed and remanded Kowalski v Gold Benes, LLP 2024 NY Slip Op 05967 Decided on November 27, 2024.
“The plaintiffs commenced this action to recover damages for legal malpractice against the defendants. The plaintiffs…
Plaintiff’s Judiciary Law 487 and Fraud Allegations Fail
In Grasso v Guarino 2024 NY Slip Op 02692 [227 AD3d 872] May 15, 2024 Appellate Division, Second Department, even allegations that the law firm falsely stated that plaintiff had been sanctioned and a claimed deceitful representation that there were no client notes is insufficient. Note all the elements of Judiciary Law 487 recited by…
Plaintiff says “Forged” Documents, But Court Says No to Judiciary Law 487 Claim
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…
Another Lesson From An Accounting Malpractice Case
Earlier this week we looked at Lateral Inv. Mgt., LLC v Marcum, LLP 2024 NY Slip Op 33865(U) October 29, 2024 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 154273/2023 Judge: Joel M. Cohen for a discussion of the statute of limitations for accounting malpractice claims. Today we look at the in pari…