A bill is sent, and a partial payment is made. More bills are sent, and the client just stops paying. The case does not go well, and there is a dispute between client and attorney. When the attorney sues for fees, what will be the outcome?
More often than not, the account stated principle comes…
You work for a landscaping company, and are working on a big job at Van Cortlandt Park. You fall off a machine and get hurt. You apply for Workers’ Compensation benefits, and they are paid. Some months later you are told that you need an attorney. You hire the attorney and he works on the…
We’re very proud to announce our article in today’s New York Law Journal. “Judiciary Law § 487 Joins the Mainstream” We hope you enjoy.
Today we once again look at Doviak v Finkelstein & Partners, LLP 2016 NY Slip Op 01636
Decided on March 9, 2016 Appellate Division, Second Department, this time for the question of spoliation in a legal malpractice setting. What happens when a particular piece of paper assumes enormous importance and might require forensic testing for…
U Joon Sung v Park 2016 NY Slip Op 30354(U) February 23, 2016 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: 159279/15 Judge: Kathryn E. Freed is typical of the chameleon-like conduct of defendants in a legal malpractice case. Without a pause, they take on the coloration and the defenses of the original tortfeasor; in this…
We sometimes stray into professional liability other than that of legal malpractice, and today we look at Dormitory Auth. of the State of N.Y. v Samson Constr. Co. 2016 NY Slip Op 01546
Decided on March 3, 2016 Appellate Division, First Department. The City of New York decided to build a state-of-the-art forensic lab for…
Accounting malpractice, a sister to attorney malpractice has many of the same principles and doctrines as does legal malpractice. Interestingly, accounting malpractice has more of an episodic rhythm of yearly tax filings. A specialized set of statute of limitations rules applies to the tax year filings. Here, however, the accounting firm was sued for its…
O’Neil’s, a defunct restaurant, wanted to move on after the founder’s death. They hired a law firm which had clients that wanted to take over the space. The law firm represented both sides, and as one might expect, one side was unhappy with the outcome. The long-running successful restaurant still owed $ 1.5 million in…
It wasn’t the pleading of the claim, and it wasn’t merely that the claim was settled. The Appellate Division, 4th Department found that Counter-claimant wife could not get past a speculative description of damages in Chamberlain, D’Amanda, Oppenheimer & Greenfield, LLP v Wilson 2016 NY Slip Op 00841 Decided on February 5, 2016 Appellate Division,…
Whether in legal malpractice, accounting malpractice or legal malpractice about an accounting malpractice claim, In Pari Delicto is a powerful defense widely wielded by defendants. They say, in essence, we sued a wrongdoer, but failed. Now you (the wrongdoer’s employer) sue us. Courts should not intervene between two wrongdoers, and that’s what you are asking…
