This trial of a legal malpractice case ended up in Civil Court. It was probably there on a claim for legal fees with a legal malpractice counterclaim.   It arose out of US Customs duty litigation, which sometimes takes place in the US District Courts and often wends its way to the US Supreme Court.  Here,…

Candela Entertainment, Inc. v Davis & Gilbert, LLP   2015 NY Slip Op 02712   Decided on March 31, 2015 Appellate Division, First Department is another example of the Appellate Division applying a laser-sharp eye to the “but for” portion of a case.  Here the question, on a motion to dismiss, was not whether the complaint stated…

Here is a story which has happened all too often in the past 20 years.

“The plaintiff and the defendant, an attorney licensed in New York, met in or about 2001, when the plaintiff sought the defendant’s legal representation. The parties established a business relationship, which later evolved into a friendship. In 2007, upon the…

Client hires attorney to make sure that a large loan is handled correctly and that the loan transaction would be legal, valid, binding, and enforceable.  The loan became noncollectable. When the motions for summary judgment were filed, Supreme Court granted summary judgment to Plaintiff and denied summary judgment to defendants.  The Appellate Division disagreed.

Quantum …

Fidelity Natl. Tit. Ins. Co. v Smith Buss & Jacobs, LLP  2015 NY Slip Op 02058  Decided on March 17, 2015
Appellate Division, First Department brings us the question of whether the law firm aided and abetted fraud, was negligent or simply made a big mistake.  The Appellate Division left that question open on a…

Leser v Multi Capital Group LLC  2015 NY Slip Op 50272(U)  Decided on March 2, 2015  Supreme Court, Kings County
Demarest, J. reads like a poorly conceived story of corporate greed.  It does teach several important lessons in legal malpractice.  The first is how essential privity of contract between the attorney and the client remains.  …

Client has a problem selling his house in upstate New York because many many years before, his father did not record the deed.  He makes a deal with buyer and agrees to a reduction in price if he cannot present good title.  He hires an attorney to quiet title, and asks whether it can be…

Armstrong v Blank Rome LLP    2015 NY Slip Op 01755   Decided on March 3, 2015  Appellate Division, First Department is an example of a well-pled 487 claim.  It remains in the case after a motion to dismiss.  Note the small zinger at the end of the decision regarding “appealability.”

“The complaint states a claim for…