Consolidation or a joint trial are subject to judicial discretion.  Judges are said to be the master of their calendar, and the Appellate Division rarely steps in and rearranges it.  Here, inCounty of Westchester v White Plains Ave., LLC 2013 NY Slip Op 02212  Decided on April 3, 2013
Appellate Division, Second Department consolidation…

Wiggins v Kopko   2013 NY Slip Op 02312  Decided on April 4, 2013   Appellate Division, Third Department  is a primer on attorney fees, contingent fees and what happens when the firm breaks up with the client and with itself.
 

"Kopko contends that plaintiff was discharged for cause due to alleged misconduct in his…

New York has a very comprehensive attorney fee-dispute arbitration process, detailed under 22 NYCRR 137.  When does it apply, and how does a legal malpractice claim affect its application? 

Wenig Saltiel, LLP v Secord  2013 NY Slip Op 23104  Decided on March 29, 2013  Appellate Term, Second Department is a nicely detailed explanation.  Law firm…

The essentials of legal malpractice litigation, including standing and ascertainable pecuniary loss come up over and over in the Appellate Division cases. Young v Quatela  2013 NY Slip Op 02243
Decided on April 3, 2013   Appellate Division, Second Department is an example.  Plaintiff’s father either suffered the loss or paid for it, and there is…

Breach of Fiduciary Duty has two separate statutes of limitation, six and three years.  Which applies in a legal malpractice case?  Generally the rule is that the choice of six or three years depends on the substantive remedy sought.  If it is for money damages the limit is three years.  If for equitable remedy, then…

We wonder whether legal malpractice is treated differently than all other law suits?  Fielding v Kupferman  2013 NY Slip Op 02008   Decided on March 26, 2013   Appellate Division, First Department raises the question once again.  Compare this case to a garden or varietal slip and fall.  Example:  plaintiff trips over a defective step and…

we’re proud to announce that our article on the Attorney Judgment Rule was published by the New York Law Journal today.

"Medicine and law have ancient parallel histories. Each practices self-regulation, and each has developed deep and extensive internal rules of professional conduct. Both have a tentative claim as one of the world’s oldest professions.

Plaintiff is the administratrix of decedent’s estate.  This is a very sad story.  Decedent entered United Presbyterian Residence after a stroke, and was the victim of a most avoidable problem:  pressure ulcer, or more commonly, a bedsore.  It eventually, and after much suffering, killed her.  Her family hired an attorney to sue the residence, and…