Just as the roof proved inadequate to the task, so the proofs on plaintiff’s case were inadequate to the claim in Petre v Alouidor & Assoc. 2017 NY Slip Op 51590(U) Decided on November 27, 2017 Appellate Term, First Department. It appears that there was no expert.
“The trial court correctly dismissed the action at…
A straight forward allegation of legal malpractice is the first step in a successful claim. A second step is connecting the described shortcomings and the claimed damages. In Lisi v Lowenstein Sandler LLP 2017 NY Slip Op 32411(U) November 16, 2017 Supreme Court, New York County
Docket Number: 160298/2016 Judge Shirley Werner Kornreich finds that…
We’re disappointed that the legal malpractice question takes the back seat in an Appellate Division decision, but in Weiss v Phillips 2017 NY Slip Op 08209 Decided on November 21, 2017
Appellate Division, First Department Renwick, J. whether Phillips has a claim against his attorney is a question for the future.
“In this case, plaintiff…
The theme of time slipping away is fodder for song lyrics in all genres. In legal malpractice as well as in professional malpractice it is a constant theme. Things happen and clients do not discover it immediately; the objective wrongfulness of conduct does not become immediately apparent. Cases are started too late, as in Schwartz …
Legal malpractice, of course, deals with mistakes make by attorneys. Attorneys should not make mistakes, but being human, they do. Mistakes can sometimes be fixed, sometimes not. For Pro-se plaintiffs, mistakes come more often, and quick-fixes are not as common. Stevens v Law Off. of Blank & Star, PLLC 2017 NY Slip Op 08030 Decided…
In Judiciary Law § 487 cases, the First Department has additional hurdles to clear not present in other Departments. While a single egregious event is sufficient outside of the First Department, Freeman v Brecher 2017 NY Slip Op 07949 Decided on November 14, 2017 Appellate Division, First Department shows us the three part test for…
A fair segment of legal malpractice dismissal are determined upon the assertion that the subject “error” was actually a strategic choice which went sour. In general, a good legal malpractice case cannot be based upon an “error in judgment” or a “strategic trial decision.” The underlying understanding is that trial and litigation decisions may often…
We admit to being a little confused. A Judiciary Law § 487 claim seeks damages because of attorney deceit, which generally must happen in a litigation setting. Must the claim be brought in the underlying setting or later, in a separate action. The answer seems to reside in whether the 487 claim merely seeks to…
Dismissal of a Legal Malpractice claim was denied (and affirmed) in Eurotech Constr. Corp. v Fischetti & Pesce, LLP 2017 NY Slip Op 07780 Decided on November 9, 2017 Appellate Division, First Department. The claim arose over whether it was the attorney’s obligation to deal with client insurance for the underlying claim.
“The complaint alleges…
Legal malpractice and CPLR 3211(a)(7) motions are an institutional problem. In our view, (as in the dissent’s view here) judges give unwarranted extra scrutiny to legal malpractice complaints, and grant 3211(a)(7) motions statistically in greater volume then they do to other types of cases. Our view is that it is an institutional problem because of…
