Many Judiciary Law 487 claims are challenged by motion before an answer is filed.  A high percentage of the motions are granted.  Mazel 315 W. 35th LLC v 315 W. 35th Assoc. LLC
2014 NY Slip Op 06252 [120 AD3d 1106]  September 23, 2014  Appellate Division, First   Department is one case in which the motion was denied.…

In a textbook example of the reason for social policy. Tenore v Kantrowitz, Goldhamer & Graifman, P.C.  2014 NYSlipOp 06811 October 8, 2014 Appellate Division, Second Department shows why privity is an essential part of the legal malpractice world.  Were litigants able to sue their opponent’s attorney, there would be a legal malpractice case…

There is now a formal split between the First and Second Departments on the appropriate statute of limitations for Judiciary Law 487.  The second department recently determined that if the JL 487 claim is made in a case with a legal malpractice claim, then the statute of limitaitons is 3 years pursuant to CPLR 214(6). …

Police officer is out sick.  Police Department rule is that you must stay in your home, and they go to great lengths to check up on those officers.  In Pannone v Silberstein  2014 NY Slip Op 03944 [118 AD3d 413]  June 3, 2014  Appellate Division, First Department  the officer was subject to a disciplinary…

Courts are loathe to apply Judiciary Law 487, and when they do, the Appellate Division often reverses.  Here,Lifeline Funding, LLC v Ripka  2014 NY Slip Op 01106 [114 AD3d 507]
February 18, 2014  Appellate Division, First Department serves as an example.  Plaintiff succeeded in obtaining a misdemeanor conviction for the common law violation of…

Judiciary Law 487 is a powerful common law tool for use in legal malpractice and attorney deceit settings.  However, it can be overused.  Overuse dilutes its power, and causes judges to, in effect, roll their eyes at the mere mention. AQ Asset Mgt., LLC v Levine  2014 NY Slip Op 05244 [119  AD3d 457] …

Standing is a very important issue in legal malpractice.  The public policy reasoning behind this stiff standard is that every case, whether criminal or civil would be followed by a legal malpractice case if standing were not an issue.  So it is in Arnold v Devane  2014 NY Slip Op 08534  Decided on December 4…

The overwhelming effect of an attorney fee award on legal malpractice cannot be overstated.  The general understanding is that no fee may be awarded to an attorney if there has been malpractice, hence, if an award is made, there could have been no malpractice.  So, when the attorney gets his awarded fees, that wipes out…