We wrote about the Pryor Cashman legal malpractice case last week. Here is the NY Law Journal’s take on it:
"A legal malpractice lawsuit filed by the trustees to a union’s benefit funds against Pryor Cashman for failing to provide advice that would have prevented the funds’ third-party administrator from embezzling $42 million may…
We have written that sometimes Courts are too eager to dismiss a legal malpractice case in CPLR 3211 grounds. Here, in Fitzsimmons v Pryor Cashman LLP ; 2011 NY Slip Op 08280 ; Decided on November 17, 2011 ; Appellate Division, First Department the Court denied dismissal and the Appelate Division affirmed.
"The court…
One frequently sees an argument made in motions to dismiss pursuant to CPLR 3211 (multiple sub-divisions) in which evidentiary material is submitted by defendant, and it is argued that damages cannot be ascertained or proven.
In Simpson v Alter ;2010 NY Slip Op 08089 ;Decided on November 9, 2010 ;Appellate Division, Second Department the…
On occasion, a story makes one stop and wonder how it could have happened. In Heller v Goldberg, Scudieri & Lindenberg, P.C.; 2011 NY Slip Op 32930(U); November 2, 2011;Sup Ct, NY County;Docket Number: 105061/11;Judge: Eileen A. Rakower we see not the first, but rather, the second transgression by a partner in a well…
Plaintiff law firm wants to collect $ 58,000 in fees, and Defendant Client believes that the law firm abandoned her during a divorce, took her escrow monies to pay fees, and caused her to spend $ 250,000 to get another attorney up to speed. The case has been before Justice James, in Supreme Court, New York…
Clients often feel that attorneys are less than trustworthy, and never more often than in the company-executive situation where the company believes that the lawyers are in cahoots with the executive. Here, in FLYCELL, INC., -against- SCHLOSSBERG LLC and MICHAEL T. O’NEIL, Defendants.;No. 11-CV-0915-CM;UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW…
During the housing run-up there was a frenzied buy-and-sell atmosphere. Buyers were looking to maximize a purchase with an eye to a large profit. Not all transactions went well, and as always, when commercial transactions fail, there will have been representation by attorneys, and later claims of attorney malpractice.
Here, in Humbert v Allen ;…
Macaluso v Pollack , 2010 NYSlipOp 30276(U) , Justice Diamond, Nassau County, presents an interesting story of how a case can get dismissed. Beyond the storyline, the case presents analysis of liability of predecessor/subsequent attorneys, how the dissolution of a partnership affects legal malpractice litigation, what subsequent attorneys can accomplish in the Second Circuit, and…
Quantum Meruit Claims: Is Interest Mandatory or Discretionary? by Joseph H. Einstein and Jonathan Gardner provides a well written analysis of whether pre-judgment interest is available to attorneys who prevail in a quantum meruit claim for fees. The cases are all over the board, with differences between the Appellate Divisions and even within each…
One aspect of legal malpractice litigation is the failure to follow developments in the law. Rules change and not keeping up with the changes leads to mistakes, criticism and, later, litigation. The rules for non-party discovery have undergone some changes over the years, and today’s decision is worth reading.
In Kooper v Kooper ; 2010…
