The problem of the uninsured or underinsured defendanat-attorney is illustrated in this West Virginia Case., Horkulic v. Galloway.
Plaintiff settled th case for the full policy limit of TIG, and in a deal with the defendant attorney, took his putative bad faith claim, and agreed not to seek the attorney’s personal assets. Along…
The Magna v. Coburn case in which the bank is suing attorney Coburn over "steering" to a settlement structuring company which eventually swindled clients, took an unusual turn. Lead attorney Rex Carr was called away from counsel table to the witness stand.
"In an odd twist Magna’s lead lawyer, Rex Carr, was called to testify…
Familiar with SLAPP suits? Unfair Competition Law? Probably not, unless you are in California. Here is a blog entry from Kimberly Kralowec on a legal malpracice case in California which illustrates a California litigation tactic. There, the Upper Deck co. v. Orick Herrington case tells us how the SLAPP law works.
"A recent unpublished opinion…
Depositions in New York used to be a variant of the Wild West rodeo. Bucking broncos, trying to stay up on the horse, pick your metaphor. New attorneys soon learned the usual tricks, "I’ll take that under advisement", "I direct the witness not to answer" and all that. With Administrative orders things have changed here. …
Attorneys are generalists, no attorneys are specialists, no they can handle anything? The profession is of two minds on this question. Any attorney, duly admitted, etc. may offer opinion evidence on the behavior of another attorney, and any attorney might simply step up to the counsel table and give an appearance. Once that happens, the…
NJ has some traps for the unwary in legal malpractice, and this case showcases several of them. In CELESTE GUIA PINTO, v.MCGOVERN, PROVOST & COLRICK, SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY ,APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-3186-06T53186-06T5 we see the Puder rule on settlements, the rule on certificates of merit, and an application of the Sheridan …
Here is a legal malpracice statute of limitationscase in which the Appellate Division , First Department give a routine analysis of a legal malpracice case, dismissed on a CPLR 3211 motion in Supreme Court, and reversed in the Appellate Division. West Vil. Assoc. Ltd. Partnership v Balber Pickard Battistoni Maldonado & Ver Dan Tuin, PC…
Here is a SDNY case in which plaintiffs sued for legal malpractice, and lost the bench trial and the appeal. The decision does not spell out what was ambiguous about the retainer agreement, but both the bench and the appeal court determined that this "engagement" letter was insufficient to spell out an attorney-client relationship.
LATIN …
BLT law blog [look it up for yourself] reports that Blackwater [the military and security subcontractor] is suing Zuckerman Spaeder in legal malpractice. Here it is from the BLT:
"Wiley Rein has hired attorneys at Zuckerman Spaeder to represent the firm in the $30 million Blackwater suit. In D.C. Superior Court, the private security contractor…
We write in a large legal community, and this story is from a smaller one. Nevertheless, the interior quote caught our attention. This trial Magna Bank v. Coburn has been going on in Madison County, and has been widely reported. Here is yet another story, but with a twist. Sparsely attended untill now, the…
