Legal Updates for Lawyers’ Professional Liability - RESULTS & THOUGHT LEADERSHIP*
LAWYERS' PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY RESULTS
Jack Slimm (Mount Laurel, NJ) obtained an order from the Superior Court in Burlington County, New Jersey, on the eve of trial granting our motion to dismiss in a multiparty, complex legal malpractice action. This suit was filed against a court-appointed administrator of an estate, the sellers of the property, the beneficiaries of the estate, and the estate itself. The case involved two actions in the Chancery Division, two actions in the Law Division, and an appeal arising out of the same, all involving claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and legal malpractice against the administrator. The case was filed because the property was contaminated. It was alleged the estate and the administrator knew or should have known about the unlawful dumping but ignored those activities, allowed the property to become damaged, and kept the information about the contamination from the plaintiff’s beneficiaries. However, the court found that the claims against the lawyer/administrator were barred because in the underlying probate action, the court had held that the administrator fulfilled his duties and was discharged from all duties and obligations under New Jersey’s Probate Code. Accordingly, the court dismissed the Law Division action based upon the Entire Controversy Doctrine, res judicata, collateral estoppel and judicial estoppel.
Carly Edman (Pittsburgh, PA) obtained a dismissal of a plaintiff’s legal and accounting malpractice claims in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The plaintiff filed suit against a number of defendants as a result of tax liability stemming from a prior unrelated legal settlement. The plaintiff claimed that our attorney client was negligent in providing legal and accounting advice in regard to corrective tax filings following a legal settlement with a state entity. The plaintiff asserted claims of legal malpractice, accounting malpractice, fraud and a host of constitutional violations. Carly sought dismissal via a number of arguments, including a lack of subject matter jurisdiction. After multiple rounds of amended pleadings and briefing, the court entered an order adopting our jurisdictional argument and dismissed the plaintiff’s latest complaint without prejudice based upon a Rule 8 violation for his failure to plead a proper jurisdictional basis. While the dismissal order was without prejudice, the running of the statute of limitations resulted in our client obtaining the win.
Nicholas Chrysanthem (New York, NY) received a “no further action” letter on a grievance where the attorney was accused of a conflict in helping the client’s adversary in a litigation after the attorney was terminated in his role as counsel.
*Prior Results Do Not Guarantee a Similar Outcome
LAWYERS' PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
September 8, 2023 - Jeremy Zacharias (Mount Laurel, NJ) presented at the New Jersey ICLE’s “Commercial Real Estate: From Handshake to Closing Seminar.” Jeremy’s topic pertained to ethical considerations in handling commercial real estate transactions. He discussed the implications of the Rules of Professional Conduct on certain real estate transactions, including multiple representations, dealing with unrepresented parties, and practical pointers when facing a motion to disqualify when an attorney handles multiple representations in a commercial real estate deal. This presentation was well attended by members of the Bar, and Jeremy discussed the importance of assessing the Rules of Professional Conduct in everyday practice.
September 15, 2023 - The Legal Intelligencer published “You Diligently Protect Your Clients; What About You? Part 2 (The Middle and the End)” written by Josh J.T. Byrne and Alesia S. Sulock (Philadelphia, PA). You can read their article here.
September 21, 2023 - Dana Gittleman’s (Philadelphia, PA) article “Trying the PL Case: Lessons Learned in the Courtroom” was published on the PLUS Blog. You can read Dana’s article here.
September 29, 2023 - Josh J.T. Byrne and Alesia S. Sulock (Philadelphia, PA) were featured speakers at the Professional Liability Defense Federation (PLDF) annual meeting in Denver on September 29. They were part of a panel titled “Defending and Avoiding Disciplinary Complaints.”
October 2023 - Scott Eberle (Pittsburgh, PA) presented “Ethics Issues in Auto Law" at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's Auto Law Update webinar.
November 1, 2023 - Josh J.T. Byrne (Philadelphia, PA) joined a Pennsylvania Bar Institute panel to present a CLE on ethical use of social media for attorneys.
November 8, 2023 - Scott Eberle (Pittsburgh, PA) presented “Avoiding Legal Malpractice” to members of the Beaver County Bar Association.
Legal Update for Lawyers’ Professional Liability – November 2023 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. We would be pleased to provide such legal assistance as you require on these and other subjects when called upon. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1 Copyright © 2023 Marshall Dennehey, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints or inquiries, or if you wish to be removed from this mailing list, contact tamontemuro@mdwcg.com.