Plaintiff claimed attorney malpracticed with regard to a settlement

Posted on by

In Freeman v Brecher, 2017 NY Slip Op 07949 [1st Dept Nov. 14, 2017], the plaintiff claimed that the attorney malpracticed with regard to a settlement. In affirming the dismissal of the case, the appellate court held that,

“Plaintiff’s claim for legal malpractice in connection with an underlying settlement fails to state a cause of action in the absence of allegations that the “settlement … was effectively compelled by the mistakes of [defendant] counsel” (Bernstein v. Oppenheim & Co., 160 A.D.2d 428, 430, 554 N.Y.S.2d 487 [1st Dept.1990] ) or the result of fraud or coercion (see Beattie v. Brown & Wood, 243 A.D.2d 395, 663 N.Y.S.2d 199 [1st Dept.1997] ). Plaintiff’s equivocal denial of knowledge of the terms of the settlement is flatly contradicted by the clear terms of the settlement agreement (see Bishop v. Maurer, 33 A.D.3d 497, 499, 823 N.Y.S.2d 366 [1st Dept.2006], affd. 9 N.Y.3d 910, 844 N.Y.S.2d 165, 875 N.E.2d 883 [2007] ). Additionally, plaintiff’s speculative and conclusory allegations of proximately caused damages cannot serve as a basis for a legal malpractice claim (see Pellegrino v. File, 291 A.D.2d 60, 63, 738 N.Y.S.2d 320 [1st Dept.2002], lv. denied 98 N.Y.2d 606, 746 N.Y.S.2d 456, 774 N.E.2d 221 [2002] ). Plaintiff’s cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty arising from the same conduct was correctly dismissed as duplicative of the legal malpractice claim (see Garnett v. Fox, Horan & Camerini, LLP, 82 A.D.3d 435, 436, 918 N.Y.S.2d 79 [1st Dept.2011]; InKine Pharm. Co. v. Coleman, 305 A.D.2d 151, 152, 759 N.Y.S.2d 62 [1st Dept.2003] ).”

If attorney regularly invoices client and client doesn’t object, then court assumes “ account stated. ”

Posted on by

When an attorney has billed a client for legal services rendered, the attorney will presumably send the client bill at regular intervals. If the attorney does regularly invoice the client and the client doesn’t object, then the court can assume there is an “account stated.” This is what occurred in Glassman v Weinberg, 154 AD3d 407 [1st Dept 2017], where the court held:

Plaintiff made a prima facie showing of his entitlement to summary judgment on his account stated claim by providing documentary evidence of the invoices, and an affidavit stating that he sent the invoices on a monthly basis to defendant, and that defendant received the invoices and failed to object to the invoices until this litigation (see L.E.K. Consulting LLC v. Menlo Capital Group, LLC, 148 A.D.3d 527, 528, 52 N.Y.S.3d 1 [1st Dept.2017]; Morrison Cohen Singer & Weinstein, LLP v. Waters, 13 A.D.3d 51, 52, 786 N.Y.S.2d 155 [1st Dept.2004] ).

R. A. Klass
Your Court Street Lawyer

Previous post
Next post

Client claims settlement was not in his interest.

Posted on by

Sometimes, a client will bring a legal malpractice claim against his attorney after the underlying case has been settled. The client may claim that the settlement was not in his interest.

A legal malpractice cause of action “ ‘is viable, despite settlement of the underlying action, if it is alleged that settlement of the action was effectively compelled by the mistakes of counsel’ ” (Tortura v. Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo, P.C., 21 A.D.3d 1082, 1083, 803 N.Y.S.2d 571, quoting Bernstein v. Oppenheim & Co., 160 A.D.2d 428, 430, 554 N.Y.S.2d 487). Nonetheless, a plaintiff’s conclusory allegations that merely reflect a subsequent dissatisfaction with the settlement, or that the plaintiff would be in a better position but for the settlement, without more, do not make out a legal malpractice cause of action (see Benishai v. Epstein, 116 A.D.3d at 727, 983 N.Y.S.2d 618 ; Boone v. Bender, 74 A.D.3d 1111, 1113, 904 N.Y.S.2d 467; Holschauer v. Fisher, 5 A.D.3d 553, 554, 772 N.Y.S.2d 836).

Maroulis v Friedman, 153 AD3d 1250 [2d Dept 2017]

R. A. Klass
Your Court Street Lawyer

Previous post
Next post

For dismissal of action, attorney must definitively lay out the defense to every element of the cause of action.

Posted on by

When an attorney being sued for legal malpractice seeks the dismissal of the action, the attorney must ensure that the motion papers definitively lay out the defense to every element of the client’s cause of action. In Burbige v Siben & Ferber, 152 AD3d 641 [2d Dept 2017], the court denied the motion brought by the law firm, holding:…

~ ~ ~

Here, contrary to the Supreme Court’s determination, the defendants failed to establish their prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law dismissing the complaint. The defendants’ submissions in support of their motion for summary judgment did not establish, prima facie, that the plaintiff will be unable to prove at least one element of his legal malpractice claim (see Kempf v. Magida, 116 A.D.3d 736, 736, 982 N.Y.S.2d 916; Barnave v. Davis, 108 A.D.3d 582, 969 N.Y.S.2d 139; Alizio v. Feldman, 82 A.D.3d 804, 918 N.Y.S.2d 218). Furthermore, the defendants failed to establish, prima facie, that the plaintiff did not sustain “actual and ascertainable damages” as a result of the defendants’ alleged neglect of the underlying action (Rudolf v. Shayne, Dachs, Stanisci, Corker & Sauer, 8 N.Y.3d at 442, 835 N.Y.S.2d 534, 867 N.E.2d 385; see Suydam v. O’Neill, 276 A.D.2d at 550, 714 N.Y.S.2d 686).

R. A. Klass
Your Court Street Lawyer

Previous post
Next post

Court can sometimes hold attorney who brings “frivolous” causes of action liable for sanctions

Posted on by

Sometimes, a court can hold an attorney who brings or continues causes of action deemed “frivolous” or without merit liable for costs and/or sanctions. In Boye v. Rubin & Bailin, LLP, 152 AD3d 1 [1 Dept. 2017], the First Department held that the attorney for the client-plaintiff in a legal malpractice action ought to be sanctioned for frivolous conduct, mainly due to the attorney’s pursuit of a meritless claim. In remanding the case to the lower court, the appellate court held that,…

~ ~ ~

After a careful review of the appellate record and the parties’ briefs, we draw the only conclusion such record permits—the bases for the legal malpractice claim have been without merit in law or fact since their inception. More concerning, however, is that despite it having been apparent from the record that successor counsel was the one who withdrew the conversion and breach of contract claims in the federal action and not defendants, and despite being alerted to this fact by the record of this case and Supreme Court on multiple occasions, counsel persists in repeating a materially false claim to this Court.

There can be no good faith basis for the repetition of this materially false claim on appeal, and we find that counsel’s behavior would satisfy any of the criteria necessary to deem conduct frivolous. In fact, the only fair conclusion is that the prosecution of this appeal and knowing pursuit of a materially false and meritless claim was meant to delay or prolong the litigation or to harass respondents.

“Among the factors we are directed to consider is whether the conduct was continued when it became apparent, or should have been apparent, that the conduct was frivolous, or when such was brought to the attention of the parties or to counsel (22 NYCRR 130-1.1 [c]), circumstances that are replete in this record as noted above” (Levy v Carol Mgt. Corp., 260 AD2d 27, 34 [1st Dept 1999]).

We also consider that sanctions serve to deter future frivolous conduct “not only by the particular parties, but also by the Bar at large” (id. at 34). The goals include preventing the waste of judicial resources, and deterring vexatious litigation and dilatory or malicious litigation tactics.

Here, counsel was ethically obligated to withdraw any baseless and false claims, if not upon his own review of the record, certainly by the time Supreme Court advised him of this fact. Instead, counsel continued to repeat a knowingly false claim in what could only be described as a purposeful attempt to mislead this Court, and pursued claims which were completely without merit in law or fact.

The appropriate remedy for maintaining a frivolous appeal is the award of sanctions in the amount of the reasonable expenses and costs including attorneys’ fees incurred in defending the appeal (see Matter of Levine, 82 AD3d 524, 527 [1st Dept 2011]). Thus, we remand the matter to Supreme Court for a determination of the amount of expenses and costs including attorneys’ fees incurred by defendants in defending this appeal, and for entry of an appropriate judgment as against plaintiff’s attorney.

R. A. Klass
Your Court Street Lawyer

Previous post
Next post