Any place there are disputes over anything, legal malpractice questions lurk. One is reminded of the New Yorker cartoon in which a 4 year old has dropped his ice cream cone, only to have an adult ask if he needs an attorney.
in a far more serious vein, here is a legal malpractice case arising…
One of the paradoxes of the legal malpractice world is the number of pro-se plaintiffs. While there are some pro-se defendants [both top-tier and totally uninsured], pro-se plaintiffs are often present. Here, in Walter v Jones, Sledzik, Garneau & Nardone, LLP ; 2009 NY Slip Op 08003 ; Decided on November 4, 2009 ; Appellate…
Cohen v Engoron, 2009 Slip Op 32521 is a fascinating look at the lower end of legal malpractice litigation. In this case, plaintiff is an incarcerated inmate who tried to sue his attorney for the return of $ 8500 in legal fees. While being incarcerated was painful for plaintiff, his attorney suffered a worse fate…
Topless photographs, sexual harassment, "heavy-handed" negotiations, emotional distress to highly pregnant women – it all seems to be out of a TV show. Nevertheless, these are the elements of Abrams v. Pacile, Supreme Court, New York County, Justice Tolub. In this decision, printed in the NYLJ today, and soon to be on the Court’s website…
Dismissals are not always dismissals on the merits, and dissolved corporations are not always unable to sue in New York. In this legal malpractice case, we see the intersection of Chapter 11, Tax Law 203-a, CPLR 205(a) and Res judicata.
In Moran Enters., Inc. v Hurst ; 2009 NY Slip Op 07807 ; Decided on…
Attorneys regularly drop in and out of cases, and for the most part, there is no particular notice taken of the event. Here, in Soussis v Lazer, Aptheker, Rosella & Yedid, P.C. ; 2009 NY Slip Op 07823 ; Decided on October 27, 2009 ; Appellate Division, Second Department we see a wholly different result. …
Plaintiff and a buddy go to attorney to start a business. Attorney is retained, and eventually Plaintiff is the odd-person out. Attorney’s retainer agreement names only the buddy, and even though attorney sends letters to both Plaintiff and buddy, and creates documents which plaintiff and buddy sign, it is Buddy who comes out with 75%…
Matrimonial legal malpractice is typically all about the money – and the money is usually about equitable distribution. Money, or having to give it to someone else drives people insane. in this case it apparently drove the husband to solicit the murder of his wife. Luckily, the plan fizzled, and ended in divorce and equitable distribution…
LOK PRAKASHAN, LTD. -v.- RALPH A. BERMAN, DAVIDOFF MALITO & HUTCHER, LLP,
No. 09-0136-cv; UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT;2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 22988 is an example of the Court’s continued romance with the concept that litigation is an art and not a science.
What is a question of judgment? " "A…
Way back when, there were different statute of limitation in legal malpractice cases which sounded in either tort [3 years] or contract [6 years]. The Court of Appeals approved, and it was the law of the land. As is its power, the legislature then passed CPLR 214(6) which created a single 3 year statute of…
