Yesterday we discussed medical treatment liens and when an attorney might become liable to pay them, even though the attorney did not deduct from the settlement proceeds when making the distribution.

Today, Joel Stashenko in the NYLJ reports passage of a bill to eliminate "double dipping" by public employees in the disability area.  Specifically, "The…

Personal injury law requires doctors, doctor reports, doctor testimony and medical treatment of the plaintiff-clients.  Clients rarely have the means to pay for medical treatment after an injury, yet need it.  Because of this need a system has developed in which plaintiff-clients go to medical providers, who provide medical treatment and file a "doctor’s lien." …

Any place there are disputes over anything, legal malpractice questions lurk.  One is reminded of the New Yorker cartoon in which a 4 year old has dropped his ice cream cone, only to have an adult ask if he needs an attorney.

in a far more serious vein, here is a legal malpractice case arising…

One of the paradoxes of the legal malpractice world is the number of pro-se plaintiffs.  While there are some pro-se defendants [both top-tier and totally uninsured], pro-se plaintiffs are often present.  Here, in Walter v Jones, Sledzik, Garneau & Nardone, LLP ;  2009 NY Slip Op 08003 ;  Decided on November 4, 2009 ; Appellate…

Cohen v Engoron, 2009 Slip Op 32521 is a fascinating look at the lower end of legal malpractice litigation.  In this case, plaintiff is an incarcerated inmate who tried to sue his attorney for the return of $ 8500 in legal fees.  While being incarcerated was painful for plaintiff, his attorney suffered a worse fate…

Topless photographs, sexual harassment, "heavy-handed" negotiations, emotional distress to highly pregnant women – it all seems to be out of a TV show.  Nevertheless, these are the elements of Abrams v. Pacile, Supreme Court, New York County, Justice Tolub.  In this decision, printed in the NYLJ today, and soon to be on the Court’s website…

Dismissals are not always dismissals on the merits, and dissolved corporations are not always unable to sue in New York.  In this legal malpractice case, we see the intersection of Chapter 11, Tax Law 203-a, CPLR 205(a) and Res judicata.

In Moran Enters., Inc. v Hurst ;  2009 NY Slip Op 07807 ;  Decided on…

Attorneys regularly drop in and out of cases, and for the most part, there is no particular notice taken of the event.  Here, in Soussis v Lazer, Aptheker, Rosella & Yedid, P.C. ; 2009 NY Slip Op 07823 ; Decided on October 27, 2009 ; Appellate Division, Second Department  we see a wholly different result. …