Trusts and estates law and legal malpractice cases often intertwine.  A unique and singular thread runs through them.  Death is almost always a part of the equation, and often, there is a question of whether the attorney represented decedent or beneficiary.  Beyond the simple question of death, there is almost always a long gestation period between…

There are two instances in New York law where an expert might be necessary in legal malpractice litigation.  One is at the trial of the matter, and the other at a motion for summary judgment.  In general, an expert is necessary in any litigation where the "issues in this case are not part of an…

Legal malpractice cases are unlike anything else…they all have a prior case background, and each must contain proofs of the "but for" variety.  Put another way, law of the case is almost always a consideration in legal malpractice cases.  Could plaintiff have won the underlying case?  Does dismissal of the underlying case fatally flaw a…

In Ramirez v. 164  West 146 Street LLC, the question is raised whether a tenant, illegally evicted because the warrant of eviction named a former landlord and not the current landlord may successfully sue the landlords’ attorney.  The answer is, no.  Justice York of Supreme Court, New York County sets forth the reasoning.

Plaintiff here sued…

It’s not often that one sees an insurer v. defense attorney legal malpractice case, but this one seems to have very big damages.  Law firm Barry, McTiernan & Moore, a well known defense firm in New York defended a synagogue fire case that was valued in excess of $ 16 million.  The insurer alleges malpractice in…

The relationship between a motion to dismiss [CPLR 3211]. a request to amend the pleadings, and dismissal on the merits is wrought with both emotion yet is based upon logic.  No author of pleadings appreciates a motion to dismiss.  The motion generally brays that there is "no merit", the pleading is "frivolous", is badly written…

TJS of N.Y. Inc. v. Koppelman, 2010 NY Slip Op 32329(U), by Justice Denise F. Molia of Supreme Court, Suffolk County is something of a cliff-hanger.  When we read it, there was no foreshadowing, no pre-tensioning nor any insight into how the decision would come out.  it’s a classic didhedoit.

Plaintiff claims a longstanding relationship…

We grant that it is a stretch to jump from new statutes to legal malpractice, but it is a given that when the rules change, there will be mistakes made.  Mistakes, the eternal produce of human endeavor is known as legal malpractice within the legal community. 

It is no novelty, nor a surprise that negligent…