CPLR 203(d) is a little known exception to the three-year statute of limitations for legal malpractice under CPLR 214(6), and allows any claims, whether time barred or not, to survive as an offset. In Landy Wolf, PLLC v Sanko 2025 NY Slip Op 33690(U) September 27, 2025 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index
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.
No Real Explanation for the Affirmance
Merely repeating that plaintiffs were unable to prove the element of causation, without explaining why, in Howlader v Aranow Law, P.C. 2025 NY Slip Op 05505 Decided on October 8, 2025 Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed denial of summary judgment to plaintiff and the grant of summary judgment to defendants.
“In this legal malpractice action…
Fired, Settled, But Still May Claim a Contingent Fee
Condon Paxos PLLC v SRC Constr. Corp. of Monroe 2025 NY Slip Op 51505(U) Decided on September 15, 2025 Supreme Court, Rockland County Cornell, J. is a discussion of ancient legal malpractice law coupled with application of a settlement agreement and determines whether the law firm may claim a contingent fee after being fired, settling…
Excessive Billing Trimmed in An Attorney Fee Case
Philip F. Alba, P.C. v Jattan 2025 NY Slip Op 33488(U) September 16, 2025 Supreme Court, Kings County Docket Number: Index No. 507470/2017 Judge: Reginald A. Boddie is an interesting case in which a bench trial of attorney fee claims with legal malpractice defenses ends with an award, but significantly trimmed for “excessive billing.”
“To…
Legal Malpractice, Deceit, AI Hallucinations and Sanctions
Facey v Liane Fisher, Esq. 2025 NY Slip Op 33456(U) September 15, 2025 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 152088/2025 Judge: Mary V. Rosado is a legal malpractice case which is full of surprises. The first is that Plaintiff was actually paid the settlement amounts (and made to take it at the…
Attorney Fees, Legal Malpractice Counterclaims and Part 137 Arbitration in an Estate Setting
Matter of Hart 2025 NY Slip Op 04993 Decided on September 17, 2025 Appellate Division, Second Department discusses the applicability of Part 137 arbitrations to legal malpractice defenses and attorney fee awards in Surrogate’s Court, as well as the necessity of an engagement letter.
“In 2014, Clifford J. Hart (hereinafter the decedent) executed a will…
No Legal Malpractice, No Breach of Contract and No Fraud. Unjust Enrichment for Some, Perhaps
Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP v Kestenbaum 2025 NY Slip Op 33276(U) August 29, 2025 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 656174/2023 Judge: Lyle E. Frank stands for the proposition that outside parties which are not part of the retainer agreement, and paid fees on behalf of the client might seek unjust enrichment…
An “Affidavit that Contained False Statements” Insufficient for a Judiciary Law 487 Claim
In the past 10 years, judiciary Law 487 claims have become more and more popular. Weaver v Hatem 2025 NY Slip Op 04931 Decided on September 10, 2025
Appellate Division, Second Department is an example of such a claim being denied with little comment.
“In September 2019, the plaintiff commenced this action against Albert A.
It’s Delay + Prejudice, Not Just Delay
In Parkoff v Rieger & Fried, LLP 2025 NY Slip Op 04914 Decided on September 10, 2025 Appellate Division, Second Department Plaintiff had an otherwise good claim against the attorneys, and, after a while, asked to amend the complaint to add the otherwise good claim. Supreme Court said no. The AD reversed.
“In September 2021…
A Complicated Loan Deal Gone Bad and Legal Malpractice
Salamone v Deily & Glastetter, LLP 2025 NY Slip Op 04846 Decided on September 04, 2025 Appellate Division, First Department demonstrates how clever loan scrivining can run afoul of usury laws and backfire.
“Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Shlomo Hagler, J.), entered May 8, 2024, which granted defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint, unanimously…