In MELNICK v. CARY PRESS,;No 06-CV-6686 (JFB) (ARL);UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK;2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77609; August 28, 2009, Decided we find an excellent discussion of the rules of attorney fee liens under the Judiciary Law.
 

"Under New York law, an attorney who is discharged is statutorily…

Today’s New York Law Journal reports on a fee dispute.in an article by Susan Beck of The American Lawyer.  This, however is not a fee dispute one might see on a typical day in the fee dispute world.  Typically, those fee disputes are for sums less than $ 50,000.  Here, the client paid $ 5 million to Boies…

 Carl v. Cohen, Supreme Court, New York County, Justice Edmead 2009 NY Slip OP 30806(U), April 15, 2009 illustrates two distinct principals in the area of attorney-client privilege. The first is privilege and at issue communications.  The second principal, to be discussed on Friday, is relation-back and the statute of limitations.

Plaintiff in this case…

Plaintiff sues defendant attorneys for legal malpractice.  Among the claims of damages are financial losses in the underlying case, as well as emotional -pain and suffering-damages based upon outrageous conduct by the attorneys.  Are these non-economic damage claims permissible?

In New York, there may not be claims for non-economic damages arising from legal malpractice.  When…

The decision in this case is straightforward, but gives practitioners little practical advice on how to word and present an expert’s affidavit.  In Giardina v Lippes, 2010 NY Slip Op 06834; Decided on October 1, 2010;  Appellate Division, Fourth Department we see two things.  The first is that the two summary judgment motion rule…

Thomas v Dinkes & Schwitzer, P.C. .2010 NY Slip Op 51666(U) ,Decided on September 23, 2010
Supreme Court, Kings County ,Rivera, J. tells us that a completely inchoherent complaint, while "filled with verbs, nouns, adverbs" etc, will be dismissed. 
 

"On June 16, 2009, plaintiff, proceeding pro se, filed a summons and complaint…

Real Estate contracts are signed in 2009  A clause states that the deposits may be reclaimed (returned to buyers) if the first closing does not take place by September 2008.  Sellers really meant by Weptember, 2009.  First Closing took place in February 2009.  Buyers want $ 16 million in deposits returned.  Sellers want to hold on…

One of the more intriguing aspects of the attorney fee and disputes field is the interplay of a strongly put rule to attorneys, and the consequences of ignoring that rule.  The rule:  "You must have a retainer agreement."  What happens when an attorney sues for fees, yet failed to have a retainer agreement as defined…