Plaintiff hears that a settlement offer had been made, and knows that his attorney did not convey a settlement offer.  We all know that it can be malpractice for an attorney to fail to convey a settlement offer, so long as Plaintiff would have taken the offer.  So, is this legal malpractice?

Not here, in…

Defendant A handles a case, and defects in service take place.  Successor counsel has about 6 months until the statute lapses.  Defendant 1 moves for dismissal.  Defendant 2 opposes.  Was there enough time for Defendant 2 to fix the problems, and if so, is Defendant 1 excused?

Grant v LaTrace  2014 NY Slip Op…

Plaintiff blames the attorney and the attorney blames the client.  Someone was at fault for not appearing in court for the trial of this case.  A motion to vacate fails.  Was it because the motion was badly written, or because plaintiff-client had no excuse for the default?

Di Giacomo v Langella  2014 NY Slip…

Legal malpractice claims are often stated in both tort and in contract, and the general feeling is that a contract cause of action in legal malpractice will almost always be a duplicitive or disguised tort claim that warrants dismissal. 

Not so inState of N.Y. Workers’ Compensation Bd. v Madden  2014 NY Slip Op…

Mizrahi v Adler  2014 NY Slip Op 31701(U)  June 30, 2014  Sup Ct, NY County  Docket Number: 650802/2010  Judge: O. Peter Sherwood  is the rather sad story of a man and his attorney, who both took a Las Vegas detour into Trump real estate hell.  Whether the attorney was a fellow traveler, or was…

Privity, a requirement rather unique to legal malpractice cases in tort, is the reason that the individuals in this case are out, while the entity remains in the case.  It had privity, but they did not.  Leggiadro, Ltd. v Winston & Strawn, LLP   2014 NY Slip Op 05048   Decided on July 3, 2014
Appellate Division…

We have recently written about the conversion of legal malpractice from a tort to a contact action, and some of the changes that have been occasioned.  Here, in Salazar v Sacco & Fillas, LLP
2014 NY Slip Op 00980 [114 AD3d 745]  February 13, 2014 Appellate Division, Second Department the Court goes to some length…

We’re off celebrating.  Have a great 4th of July!