FKB’s Aaron M. Barham and Steven Kaufman secured a CPLR 3211 dismissal of a legal malpractice complaint, in New York County Supreme Court, arising from an alleged concurrent representation conflict of interest.

FKB’s client represented the Plaintiff and a non-party property developer in preparing a settlement agreement regarding a construction dispute between the parties. After the Plaintiff defaulted on the agreement, the non-party developer obtained a judgment against Plaintiff, and Plaintiff subsequently sued FKB’s client, a prominent New York commercial litigator, claiming the attorney was negligent and favored the non-party’s interests to the exclusion of Plaintiff’s. In their successful 3211 motion to dismiss, FKB argued that Plaintiff could not sustain a legal malpractice cause of action premised on the alleged failure of FKB’s client to perform services beyond the scope of an attorney’s retention, as there was no duty to perform such services. Additionally, FKB successfully argued that the Plaintiff expressly waived any conflict of interest and repeatedly affirmed that Plaintiff had the opportunity to consult independent counsel.

If you have any questions about this decision, please contact Aaron M. Barham or Steven Kaufman.