FKB’s Andrew R. Jones, Aaron M. Barham and Nicole Palermo obtained a pre-answer dismissal of a legal malpractice lawsuit filed in the New York Supreme Court, Queens County arising from a property easement dispute. The Plaintiff’s allegations involved two different representations – first, where FKB’s client represented Plaintiff for a commercial property transaction, and second, where Plaintiff retained FKB’s client to oppose a summary judgment motion in a litigation arising out of a purported easement in the aforementioned commercial property.

In its CPLR §3211 motion to dismiss, FKB successfully argued that the Plaintiff was barred from bringing a malpractice action with regards to the initial commercial property transaction, because the alleged malpractice occurred over three years prior to the commencement of the legal malpractice lawsuit. As to Plaintiff’s claims regarding the underlying litigation, the Court (Justice David Elliot) agreed that with FKB’s standing argument that Plaintiff, as an individual, lacked legal standing to sue in his own name for injuries alleged to have been suffered by a separate corporate entity, the named-plaintiff in the underlying litigation.

If you have any questions about this decision, or the defense of attorneys in general, please contact Andrew R. Jones, Aaron M. Barham and Nicole Palermo.