Gall v Colon-Sylvain  2017 NY Slip Op 04424  Decided on June 7, 2017  Appellate Division, Second Department is the story of a real estate case gone bad, a non-jury trial ending in success for plaintiff and a complete reversal at trial.  How can Supreme Court and the Appellate Division differ so, on the same set…

It’s a common enough scenario.  Home buyer (not a professional) wants to buy what looks like a bargain.  Home buyer goes to an attorney and the closing takes place.  Problem?  ECB as judgments against the property which don’t get taken care of, the neighbor has a right to use the driveway and there are structural…

What, exactly, is the standard by which legal malpractice proximate cause is measured?  Remember, legal malpractice is the sole area of the law in which an additional burden is placed upon the plaintiff:  the “but for” requirement.  New York State Workers’ Compensation Bd. v Program Risk Mgt., Inc.  2017 NY Slip Op 04184  Decided on…

Really, the numbers boggle.  Clients collectively lost a $3 Million tax deduction when one of the trustees, without telling anyone else, waived the claim.  A professional malpractice claim followed in 1993 Trust of Joan Cohen v Baum    2017 NY Slip Op 30894(U)  May 2, 2017  Supreme Court, New York County  Docket Number: 150058/2015  Judge: Shirley…

It seems that when the husband was injured, the defendant law firm sued for both him and the wife (in loss of consortium).  Years later it was said that the plaintiff signed a release for her “loss of services” claim.  She denies settling her portion of the case.  What happened?  Were they now divorced and…

In big financial transactions, big law firm 1 may often interact with big law firm 2 in the generation of loan documents, opinion letters and the such.  Their interaction, viz-a-viz the clients (on both sides) may yield significant risk the law firms.

Bloostein v Morrison Cohen LLP  2017 NY Slip Op 30833(U)  April 21, 2017  …

Last week we reported a cataclysmic event in Judiciary Law 487.  It was Magistrate Scott’s report and recommendation  in Bounkhoun v. Barnes, 15-cv-631A. District Judge Richard Arcara is presiding over the case.  He wrote:  “Where does all of the above analysis leave plaintiff? Plaintiff has pled that defendants ignored her desire to settle…