An interesting phenomenon in legal malpractice is the persistence of errors in a long series of otherwise isolated incidents. DiGiacomo v Levine ;2010 NY Slip Op 06566 ; Decided on September 14, 2010 ; Appellate Division, Second Department illustrates how this hoppers.
Auto accident takes place and clients hire attorney 1. Attorney 1…
Ripeness and mootness are two concepts not all that readily associated with litigation. If a case exists, it should be ready to adjudicate, no? If someone has been damaged, then the case cannot be moot? We see one such example in GREENSTREET FINANCIAL, L.P., -against- CS-GRACES, LLC, et al., Defendants. CS-GRACES, LLC, et al.,07 Civ.
An auto accident. Severe injuries. A multi-million dollar settlement. Is that the end of the story? TOKYO MARINE AND NICHIDO FIRE INSURANCE CO., LTD., as subrogee for Mitsubishi Motors Credit of America, Inc., Plaintiff, -against- ROSALIE CALABRESE and LOUIS FACCIPONTI, Defendants. ROSALIE CALABRESE and LOUIS FACCIPONTI, Third-Party Plaintiffs, -against- RUSSO & APOZNANSKI, and MONTFORT, HEALY, …
In a remarkably detailed and reasoned decision, Justice NeMoyer of Supreme Court, Erie County dissects the holding of Carvalho v New Rochelle Hosp. 53 AD2d 635 [2d Dept 1976]. Carvalho is a seminal case in trial practice, which permits questioning of one party [lawyers as well as doctors] as experts in their own case.…
Trusts and estates law and legal malpractice cases often intertwine. A unique and singular thread runs through them. Death is almost always a part of the equation, and often, there is a question of whether the attorney represented decedent or beneficiary. Beyond the simple question of death, there is almost always a long gestation period between…
There are two instances in New York law where an expert might be necessary in legal malpractice litigation. One is at the trial of the matter, and the other at a motion for summary judgment. In general, an expert is necessary in any litigation where the "issues in this case are not part of an…
Legal malpractice cases are unlike anything else…they all have a prior case background, and each must contain proofs of the "but for" variety. Put another way, law of the case is almost always a consideration in legal malpractice cases. Could plaintiff have won the underlying case? Does dismissal of the underlying case fatally flaw a…
In Ramirez v. 164 West 146 Street LLC, the question is raised whether a tenant, illegally evicted because the warrant of eviction named a former landlord and not the current landlord may successfully sue the landlords’ attorney. The answer is, no. Justice York of Supreme Court, New York County sets forth the reasoning.
Plaintiff here sued…
It’s not often that one sees an insurer v. defense attorney legal malpractice case, but this one seems to have very big damages. Law firm Barry, McTiernan & Moore, a well known defense firm in New York defended a synagogue fire case that was valued in excess of $ 16 million. The insurer alleges malpractice in…
The relationship between a motion to dismiss [CPLR 3211]. a request to amend the pleadings, and dismissal on the merits is wrought with both emotion yet is based upon logic. No author of pleadings appreciates a motion to dismiss. The motion generally brays that there is "no merit", the pleading is "frivolous", is badly written…
