Andrew S. Kowlowitz and Daniel H. Butler recently obtained complete dismissal of Plaintiff’s claims and all cross-claims against their client, a real estate attorney, pursuant to a CPLR 3211(a)(7) pre-answer motion to dismiss.  The real estate attorney represented a buyer/lender in connection to a short sale of the plaintiff’s home.  The plaintiff argued that the real estate attorney represented the plaintiff, as well as all other parties at the closing, and also claimed that the real estate attorney – acting in concert with a mortgage broker and the buyer – defrauded the plaintiff.  The plaintiff also claimed that the real estate attorney violated sections of RPL 265-a at the closing. 

Nassau County’s Justice John M. Galasso, J.S.C., determined that Plaintiff’s Complaint “fails to include any allegations of the existence of an attorney-client relationship” between Plaintiff and the real estate attorney, and that Plaintiff has failed to state a cause of action with respect to the plaintiff’s claims of fraud and violations of RPL 265-a.  Justice Galasso dismissed all claims and cross-claims against the real estate attorney. 

If you have any questions about defending a real estate attorney, or the defense of attorneys, in general, please feel free to contact Andrew S. Kowlowitz or Daniel Butler.