A Moving Target in a Motion Picture
New York Attorney Malpractice Blog
by Andrew Lavoott Bluestone
55m ago
Serafini Releasing LLC v Gray 2024 NY Slip Op 30863(U) March 13, 2024 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 655579/2021 Judge: Melissa A. Crane is that rare New York legal malpractice case arising out of the making of a film. Here, Plaintiff has several scenarios at play against the attorney and, in the last reel, loses all. “In this action, plaintiff Serafini Releasing, LLC (“plaintiff” or “Serafini”), a New Yark based film production and distribution company, originally alleged that defendant Jonathan Gray (“Gray”), an attorney, and his law firm, defendant Gray Krauss Strat ..read more
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A Bad Faith and Legal Malpractice Case Avoids Dismissal
New York Attorney Malpractice Blog
by Andrew Lavoott Bluestone
2d ago
The now bankrupt defendant in a personal injury case is suing her insurance carrier and her defense attorney after they failed to settle the case once summary judgment had been awarded to the injured party in Pergament v Government Empls. Ins. Co. (“GEICO”) 2024 NY Slip Op 01568 Decided on March 20, 2024 Appellate Division, Second Department. The motion was mostly denied. “The defendant Government Employees Insurance Company (“GEICO”) (hereinafter Geico) retained the defendants Picciano & Scahill, LLP, and Gilbert J. Hardy (hereinafter together the law firm defendants) to represent Melissa ..read more
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An Enormous Real Estate Legal Malpractice Case Almost Entirely Dismissed
New York Attorney Malpractice Blog
by Andrew Lavoott Bluestone
1w ago
Sebco Dev., Inc. v Siegel & Reiner, LLP 2024 NY Slip Op 50292(U) Decided on March 20, 2024 Supreme Court, Bronx County Gomez, J. is the kind of legal malpractice case that comes up often enough to support the idea that real estate in NYC is a paramount, driving economic force, and that the extensive lawyering necessary results in many legal malpractice cases. The case is fantastically fact-driven, and the decision is almost appellate in depth. It is impossible to summarize for a blog, but it is definitely worth reading completely for the definitions, the explanations and the discussion of ..read more
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The New York Court Of Appeals Renders A Major Judiciary Law 487 Opinion
New York Attorney Malpractice Blog
by Andrew Lavoott Bluestone
1w ago
The Court of Appeals addresses Judiciary Law 487 questions infrequently, and each of its decisions tends to be broadly transformative. Urias v Daniel P. Buttafuoco & Assoc., PLLC 2024 NY Slip Op 01497 Decided on March 19, 2024 Court of Appeals Halligan, J. is no exception. It harmonizes and simplifies one of the major embellishments that have been woven into the statute over the years, and permits plenary actions for any Judiciary Law 487 claim going forward. “Judiciary Law § 487 provides that “[a]n attorney or counselor[ ] . . . guilty of any deceit or collusion, . . . with intent to dece ..read more
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What Happens in Texas Stays in Texas
New York Attorney Malpractice Blog
by Andrew Lavoott Bluestone
1w ago
Musial v Donohue 2024 NY Slip Op 01414 Decided on March 15, 2024 Appellate Division, Fourth Department is a law school example of the territorial effect of jurisdiction and due process. A Texas law firm prosecutes a Texas motor vehicle accident in Texas, and is not subject to a New York legal malpractice case for that work. “Memorandum: Plaintiffs, who reside in New York, commenced this breach of contract and legal malpractice action against Texas attorney Russell Button, Esq., and his law firm, the Button Law Firm, PLLC (collectively, Button defendants), as well as New York attorneys David C ..read more
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Judiciary Law 487 Not Well Suited to Attorney Fee Claims
New York Attorney Malpractice Blog
by Andrew Lavoott Bluestone
1w ago
Salus v Berke 2023 NY Slip Op 06183 [221 AD3d 1390] November 30, 2023 Appellate Division, Third Department is a case in which Plaintiff claims that the lawfirm took a fee on a recovery for which there should have been no fee. It made a Judiciary Law 487 claim which was dismissed. This case is similar in some ways to an as-yet undecided Court of Appeals case, Urias v. Buttafuoco Assc. “Plaintiff Gregory J. Salus is the beneficiary of the residuary clause of the will of his mother (hereinafter decedent), and plaintiff Robert Russo is the executor of the estates of decedent and her husband. Salus ..read more
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A Common Personal Injury/Worker’s Compensation Problem
New York Attorney Malpractice Blog
by Andrew Lavoott Bluestone
2w ago
Plaintiffs who are injured on the job have two courses of action. They can claim Worker’s Compensation damages and they can also claim that a third-party is responsible for the injury. While the plaintiff may have to obtain WC permission to settle the third-party claim, and while the WC carrier may be able to claw back some portion of the WC compensation, the third-party case can still continue. WC attorneys often handle only the WC case and decline to handle a potential third-party case. Boukari v Schwartzberg Assoc., LLC 2024 NY Slip Op 01247 Decided on March 07, 2024 Appellate Division, Fir ..read more
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One Last Try
New York Attorney Malpractice Blog
by Andrew Lavoott Bluestone
2w ago
Colucci v Rzepka 2024 NY Slip Op 01232 Decided on March 7, 2024 Appellate Division, Third Department is Plaintiff’s last try to avoid dismissal. The AD simply finds that this appeal (probably from the final judgment) raises no new issues that were not already raised in the appeal from the summary judgment order. “The underlying facts of this legal malpractice action are fully set forth in our prior decision wherein this Court affirmed Supreme Court’s order granting a motion by defendants Osborne Reed & Burke, LLP, Bressler & Kunze, Burke Albright Harter & Reddy, LLP and Moyer Russi ..read more
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Settlements, Cash Advances and a Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claim
New York Attorney Malpractice Blog
by Andrew Lavoott Bluestone
3w ago
It is a little difficult to understand the claims in Peterec-Tolino v Ciacci 2024 NY Slip Op 01259 Decided on March 07, 2024 Appellate Division, First Department. The legal representation was in a personal injury setting, with a workers’ compensation component as well. Plaintiff was able to settle two personal injury cases, and got a cash advance from a funder. How the law firm might have been negligently involved is opaque. “Supreme Court properly dismissed plaintiff’s breach of fiduciary duty claim, to the extent it arises from Ciacci’s suggestion that plaintiff and his wife seek funding for ..read more
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The All Important Accounting Retainer Agreement
New York Attorney Malpractice Blog
by Andrew Lavoott Bluestone
3w ago
Channel Fabrics, Inc. v Skwiersky, Alpert & Bressler LLP 2023 NY Slip Op 06471 [222 AD3d 512] December 19, 2023 Appellate Division, First Department illustrates the varying levels of service that accountants provide, and how the all important accountant’s retainer agreement can limit liability.” “To state a claim for accountant malpractice, a complaint must allege that there was a departure from accepted standards of practice and that the departure was a proximate cause of the injury suffered by plaintiff (D.D. Hamilton Textiles v Estate of Mate, 269 AD2d 214, 215 [1st Dept 2000]; see ..read more
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