Yesterday, we looked at Escape Airports (USA), Inc. v Kent, Beatty & Gordon, LLP
2010 NY Slip Op 08981 ; Decided on December 7, 2010 ; Appellate Division, First Department in which Justice Kornreich was affirmed across the board.
One defense in legal malpractice cases is that damages are speculative, conclusory, or cannot be…
A unique principal in malpractice cases, both medical and legal is the question of professional judgment. In medicine, it is said that "medicine is an art and not a science" and in law, it is said that a legal malpractice action may not be based solely upon a failed strategy or question of professional judgment…
The case of Carl v. Cohen, Supreme Court, New York County, Justice Edmead 2009 NY Slip OP 30806(U), April 15, 2009 illustrates two distinct principals. The first is privilege and at issue communications and the second principal is relation-back and the statute of limitations.
The statute of limitations in legal malpractice is three years…
Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP v Rose; 2010 NY Slip Op 33288(U); November 23, 2010
Sup Ct, NY County; Judge: Joan A. Madden is a decision which outlines the law of charging liens and legal malpractice. In this particular case, attorneys were representing plaintiff in a series of interrlated but separate litigations, all…
The law and its rules changes as a matter of geography. A few miles to the south, rules are completely different. As an example, in NY a workers’ compensation carrier may recovery its payments to plaintiff after plaintiff successfullly sues a third-party. As an aside, there are any number of legal malpractice cases in which…
Judiciary Law 487 may be the oldest statute in American (and in Anglo-American) jurisprudence. it dates from the first Statute of Westminster, adopted in England in 1275. Even almost 800 years later refinements continue to be made.
in Barrows v Alexander 2010 NY Slip Op 08506 ; Decided on November 19, 2010 ; Appellate Division…
We will be the first to say that we simply do not understand this Second Department decision. Kennedy v H. Bruce Fischer, Esq., P.C. ;2010 NY Slip Op 08709 ;Decided on November 23, 2010
Appellate Division, Second Department has the following two ideas that we cannot put together and harmonize: Plaintiff was able to…
"It might seem unjust, or even perverse, for a pro se plaintiff to lose just because he happened to sue in his home state, instead of where he believes the injury occurred, and where an attorney probably would have recommended he sue. But the Court’s job is to apply applicable statutes fairly and…
Plaintiff is arrested and retains attorneys to represent him. Plaintiff bails himself out and uses the bail receipt to pay the attorneys. At issue here is whether he endorsed the bail receipt over to the attorneys to cover a minimum fee, and whether pleading guilty is a "’disposition" or whether pleading guilty and being sentenced…
Legal malpractice litigation is unique. While the simple fact is that this branch of the law is written by attorneys, is utilized to litigate against attorneys, is judged upon by attorneys, the more complex story is that there are a number of unique rules. One is that a criminal defendant may not sue his attorney absent "actual innocence." There are no lawsuits…
