The “But for” zone in legal malpractice is where most battles take place. Whether there was a departure is rarely the tipping point. Moore v Kronick 2020 NY Slip Op 05742 [187 AD3d 892] October 14, 2020
Appellate Division, Second Department shows how events in the underlying case can kill a legal malpractice claim.
“The…
Real estate is a major contributor to the legal malpractice oeuvre. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v Pickett 2020 NY Slip Op 05795 [187 AD3d 965] October 14, 2020 Appellate Division, Second Department is an interesting example of a conflict of interest and the AD’s suggestion that a legal malpractice case might be appropriate.
“The defendant…
Kivo v Louis F. Burke, P.C. 2020 NY Slip Op 05680 [187 AD3d 503]
October 13, 2020 Appellate Division, First Department reminds us that an expert is (almost) always needed. Here, the absence of an expert was fatal to the motion defense.
“In this legal malpractice action, defendants, through their expert’s affidavit, established prima facie…
The Statute of limitations is an embodiment of a social policy which, in essence keeps the world turning. Old, stale claims have an expiration date, and little opportunity exists to keep them alive. Even continuous representation, in the legal malpractice setting, has significant limits. Mehra v Morrison Cohen LLP 2020 NY Slip Op 33234(U) October…
As we have noted many times, real estate issues prompt a great number of legal malpractice cases. There is both real money and real complicated litigative issues in big NY real estate and it often ends in legal malpractice disputes. Genesis REOC Co., LLC v Poppel 2020 NY Slip Op 33230(U) October 1, 2020 Supreme…
A classic example of a case which probably could not be won. It was lost because of discovery deficiencies by the attorney. Woman goes to wax salon, has wax applied to her eyebrows. Eventually she is diagnosed with herpes and HPV. Salon used and re-used same sticks, and had a pot of wax which was…
Clients often intuit the departure from good practice in their cases. Referring attorneys generally pinpoint the mistake. Few consider how and whether they can prove that “but for “the mistake or departure, there would have been a better result. Katsoris v Bodnar & Milone, LLP
2020 NY Slip Op 05040 Decided on September 23, 2020…
One might engage in a plethora of unacceptable acts, yet not be responsible for legal malpractice. How can this be? Might one delay a case for two years and still be safe from a law suit? Can one arrange for a client to take a 23% interest rate litigation loan, yet still avoid a claim? …
Most people as well as a lot of lawyers stop their legal malpractice analysis at the first element: departure from good practice. The battle in real legal malpractice cases almost always takes place in the third element: “but for” proximate causation. Lindenwood Vil., Section C Coop. Corp. v Denenberg ,2020 NY Slip Op 32572(U)…
There are scholarly works (in the form of law review articles) which argue that the courts tilt towards attorneys in legal malpractice cases. It is logical that such a prejudice might exist. Legal malpractice (and ethical) rules are written by attorneys, apply to attorneys, are reviewed by attorneys and are acted upon by judge-attorneys. Any…
