The case is Holtzman v. Griffith, 2018 NY Slip Op 04540, decided by the Appellate Division, Second Department. Holtzman sued for fees and his former client, Griffith, counterclaimed for legal malpractice. The trial court on the basis of an account stated ordered Griffith to pay the legal fees that were…
Judicial estoppel is a doctrine that penalizes a litigant who takes one position in one lawsuit and a contrary position in another lawsuit. In other words, the litigant’s position shifts based on the litigant’s interests in a particular case. Kershaw v. Levy, Tennessee Court of Appeals, No. M2017-01129-COA-R3-CV., is a divorce…
The case is DePalma v. Maya Murphy, 16 cv 8933, from the Southern District of New York. The relevant opinion is dated December 1, 2017. The plaintiff, Carol DePalma, sued her former divorce attorney and the court-appointed financial expert. This post will deal with the claims against the financial expert.…
After his divorce case concluded Lancaster sued his former attorney for malpractice. The claim included allegations of fraudulent billing and other claims. The lawyer raised the defense of res judicata. Res judicata is a phrase borrowed from Latin which bars a litigant from re-litigating a claim that was previously litigated…
This is a divorce malpractice case where a lawyer allegedly failed to timely appeal a divorce judgment against his client. His client (Ex-Husband) claimed that the failure to appeal constituted legal malpractice. The Georgia courts disagreed. The holding: even though the lawyer missed the deadline to appeal, there was no…
Plaintiff and his wife entered into a post-nuptial agreement. They eventually retained a mediator to assist the negotiations. Plaintiff sued the mediator for legal malpractice. His case was dismissed because he had his own lawyers and because the mediator was not his attorney. The court explained: Goldstein also produced documentary…
In divorce cases that settle, the judge will hold a prove-up hearing. During that hearing, the parties are asked questions about the Marital Settlement Agreement. If a litigant testifies that the settlement was fair and appropriate, can he later sue his lawyer for “coercing” him into settling the case? The…
The plaintiff filed a malpractice claim against her divorce lawyers. However, her claim did not succeed because she did not provide expert testimony. That testimony, from a family law lawyer, would be necessary to show negligence. This is one of those truths that we cannot repeat enough times – an…
A common legal malpractice claim made against a divorce lawyer is that the lawyer failed to take sufficient discovery of the ex-spouse’s assets. Here, Engelman brought such a claim. The claim was defeated, however, by representations in the settlement documents that showed that the client disregarded the lawyers’ advice and…
This is an unpublished case which had an interesting result. Plaintiff was represented by the Defendant attorney in her divorce case. Her husband, David Whittlemore, was apparently in financial difficulties. David Whittlemore offered an unusual settlement term to his soon to be ex-wife. He claimed that his wealthy brother Harvey would…