Breach of Fiduciary Duty has two separate statutes of limitation, six and three years. Which applies in a legal malpractice case? Generally the rule is that the choice of six or three years depends on the substantive remedy sought. If it is for money damages the limit is three years. If for equitable remedy, then
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.
Is Legal Malpractice a Disfavored Stepchild of the Law?
We wonder whether legal malpractice is treated differently than all other law suits? Fielding v Kupferman 2013 NY Slip Op 02008 Decided on March 26, 2013 Appellate Division, First Department raises the question once again. Compare this case to a garden or varietal slip and fall. Example: plaintiff trips over a defective step and…
Applying the Attorney Judgment Rule to Legal Malpractice Claims
we’re proud to announce that our article on the Attorney Judgment Rule was published by the New York Law Journal today.
"Medicine and law have ancient parallel histories. Each practices self-regulation, and each has developed deep and extensive internal rules of professional conduct. Both have a tentative claim as one of the world’s oldest professions.
Medical Malpractice Followed by Legal Malpractice
Plaintiff is the administratrix of decedent’s estate. This is a very sad story. Decedent entered United Presbyterian Residence after a stroke, and was the victim of a most avoidable problem: pressure ulcer, or more commonly, a bedsore. It eventually, and after much suffering, killed her. Her family hired an attorney to sue the residence, and…
Attorney Sues Attorney; Where is the Client?
Client has a really horrible situation in her apartment. First there is a flood of raw sewerage. She hires law firm 1 to sue. They commence an action. Then, she has a water flood from the neighbor upstairs. She hires law firm 2 to handle that case. They commence an action. Law firm 2 settles the…
Will the Legal Malpractice Case Be Heard in Federal or State Court?
Jurisdiction in US District Court is a serious matter, and may be based (in general) upon diversity or upon federal question jurisdiction. When a legal malpractice case is based upon some uniquely federal issue, ERISA or a FDA issue or a patent issue, does that allow the action to be brought in District Court? We’ve argued in…
Is It Possible That Attorneys Churn Bills?
Hand in hand with legal malpractice cases are attorney fee cases. We’ve commented that attorney fee disputes are of biblical proportion, and have existed as long. Today’s New York Law Journal reports that "DLA Piper Emails Reveal Firm Overbilled, Former Client Says"
In an article written by Christine Simmons, she reports that internal e-mails…
A Double Change in the 4th Department
It’s rare that the Appellate Division looks back and says that its own decisions were "simply wrong." Here, in Goodwin v Pretorius 2013 NY Slip Op 01931 March 22, 2013 Appellate Division, Fourth Department Scudder, P.J., the Court does it twice.
"First, as defendants correctly conceded at oral argument of this appeal, General Municipal…
When is A Settlement a Release?
Plaintiff sues for negligence in the preparation, filing and work on a trade dress application, and is then sued for fees. Settlement of the fee dispute ensued. Was this settlement of all claims? Of interest is the AD’s comment in Pure Power Boot Camp, Inc. v Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu, P.C. 2013 NY…
A Pox on Both Houses in a Legal Malpractice Setting
This must have been a highly contentious legal malpractice case, with the Court showing its displeasure to both attorneys. A sanction of $10,000 on defendant pro-se attorney is unusual; a sanction on both sides even more so
Selletti v Liotti 2013 NY Slip Op 01816 Decided on March 20, 2013 Appellate Division, Second…