In Seaview Mezzanine Fund, LP v. LoPresti, 2010 NY Slip Op 30350(U), decided by Justice York on February 18, 2010, in New York County, we see a well written explanation of several basic principals. In this case a review of releases, of contract interpretation and the difference between a CPLR 3211(a)(7) and a CPLR 3211(a)(1)
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 Examples of Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Legal Malpractice
This week brings a decision in SHEEHY,v. NEW CENTURY MORTGAGE CORP., ET AL., No. 08-CV-377 (JFB) (MLO);UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK;2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15201, We have noted a trend in legal malpractice cases involving allegaions of breach of fiduciary duty. Here is another one.
From the decision:…
What Did it Take for a Second Look at a Legal Malpractice Case?
It’s a rare phenominom, but in this case the Second Department took another look at a case, and significantly changed its decision regarding legal malpractice. in Uzzle v Nunzie Ct. Homeowners Assn., Inc. ;2010 NY Slip Op 01476 ;Decided on February 16, 2010 ;Appellate Division, Second Department under 2008 NY Slip Op 7905, the AD…
Statute of Limitations in Legal Malpractice and Real Estate Contracts
In Yakubov v Borukhov we see a common fact pattern. It consists of an early event followed by litigation, bad outcome, and a look back, in legal malpractice, at the original attorney from years before.
Here the sequence is: Real estate contract which was to allow plaintiff to subdivide property. Seller balks, and Plaintiff-buyer litigates…
Trip & Fall Cases and Legal Malpractice
How does an attorney prove negligence in a trip & fall case? Failures in such proof provide a steady steam of legal malpractice inquiies, and fuel much plaintiff suspicion that the law is either not fair, or that their attorney could have done a better job.
In Grazidei v. Mezeny Inc., 4903/07; Decided: February 9…
Charging and Retaining Liens in Legal Malpractice
A common law retaining lien entitles the outgoing attorney to retain all papers, securities, or money belonging to the client that came into the attorney’s possession in the course of representation, as security for payment of attorney’s fees. Arising from Judiciary Law 475, it is enforceable only by retention of the items themselves and is…
Legal Malpractice in Union Settings
Unions provide attorneys and legal coverage for their members. Sometimes employers provide attorneys for their employees. Do they have legal malpractice responsibility to the member-employee ? Does the attorney have a legal malpractice responsibility to the client, in the absence of privity? Some answers are set forth in NADA, -against- 1199 SEIU HEALTH CARE EMPLOYEES UNION…
Trusts and Releases in Legal Malpractice
Once, the Corning glass works were a behemoth in upstate New York. World class, cutting edge [no pun], and hugely successful, ownership of Corning stock was both a good investment and an emblem of upstate NY industriousness. This case, Matter of Hsbc Bank U.S.A. v Jesse T. Littleton, 2010 NY Slip Op 01099…
One Problem after Another in Legal Malpractice
When one starts to read a case, and the plaintiff is pro-se, look out for common mistakes within. In Williams v Bushman ;2010 NY Slip Op 00840 ;Decided on February 2, 2010 ;Appellate Division, Second Department we see at least two. Here is the story line:
"The plaintiff, Nathaniel N. Williams, retained the…
Fee Arbitration and Counter-Claims for Legal Malpractice
Courts are closed today and on Monday for the President’s weekend. Nevertheless, today we present an Appellate Term case on the interplay of fee dispute arbitration and legal malpractice.
Calabro & Assoc., P.C. v Katz ;2010 NY Slip Op 50192(U) ;Decided on February 9, 2010 ; Appellate Term, First Department . This was a…