"Standing" is the concept of a right to sue. In legal malpractice there is a very strict requirement that only a client (with very limited exceptions) may sue the attorney. Were this not so, every case would end with a legal malpractice started by the loser, and sometimes, the winner.
So, in Brooklyn Elec. Supply …
Plaintiff’s decedent goes to a Queens motel and is shot dead. The shooter eventually pleads guilty to manslaughter. How much time does the estate have to sue the shooter, the hotel and was it given correct advice on the statute of limitations by its attorney?
Ross v Saravanos ;2011 NY Slip Op 31310(U)…
Client sues attorneys for legal malpractice, and attorneys counterclaim against client for "contribution and indemnity." When may this properly go forward? What is "contribution" and what is "indemnity" ?
Contribution is the apportionment of fault among joint tortfeasors. Several contractors who each negligently damage a tenant might seek contribution among themselves.
Indemnity is the situation in…
One of the crucial questions to be asked in legal malpractice litigation is when did the representation end. This question comes only shortly after the question of when did the negligent event take place. The statute of limitations is three years from the negligent event or the last date that the attorneys represented the client…
When might an attorney be liable to a non-client for legal malpractice? ""The law in New York does not recognize any liability on the part of an attorney to a nonclient third party for injuries sustained as a result of an attorney’s actions in representing his client absent fraud, collusion, or a malicious or tortious…
There is little (or no) factual underpinning to this legal malpractice case, and no explanation of the various positions taken by the parties. In Pistilli Constr. & Dev. Corp. v Epstein, Rayhill & Frankini ; 2011 NY Slip Op 04025 ; Decided on May 10, 2011 ; Appellate Division, Second Department we directly learn only…
The early days of the 20th century brought us the Robber barons, and the rise of corporations. The interconnectedness and remote nature of the relationships challenged the Courts, and led to a school of "better practice" business aspiration. Today, as long as a profit motive exists, there will be arrangements between persons which are created…
Attorney fee suits lead to interesting further proceedings. An oft cited piece of advice at CLEs is that attorney fee suits invite legal malpractice counterclaims. Here is one. They do not always succeed. However, was it worth the $6000 fee case?
In Richard A. Kraslow, P.C. v LoGiudice ; 2011 NY Slip Op 50823(U) ; …
Is a motion for summary judgment in a legal malpractice case timely or not? One Supreme Court Justice says that it is, and one says that it is not? is the first decision the law of the case or not? Is the Appellate Division bound by an earlier decision? How can two learned justices disagree…
We’ve discussed the oft-found fact situation of how a fee determination by a bankruptcy court may block a later legal malpractice action. In Breslin Realty Dev. Corp. v Shaw ; 2010 NY Slip Op 00087 Decided on January 5, 2010; Appellate Division, Second Department; Chambers, J., J. the court writes persuasively about the concept:
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