Legal Malpractice

An Apartment Closing, The Brokers and Legal Malpractice

By (Andrew Lavoott Bluestone)

We predict a change in the focus of legal malpractice cases reflecting the economic changes going on today.  Here is a case more indicative of the former red-hot real estate market in Manhattan.  Plaintiffs buy two apartments, plan to combine them, are told that some outside space on a setback will be theirs, and then it all goes sour.  Plaintiffs sue the brokers and their attorneys.  They hit .500 with the brokers out and the attorneys in.  In Pappas v. New 14 West LLC we see how the court treated the broker defendants differently from the attorney defendants, essentially saying that plaintiffs could not show writings which would support a fraud claim against the brokers, not withstanding any sales pitches which did not pan out, and that it was the attorney's responsibility to make sure the clients got what they expected.  In addition, the attorneys seem to have provided the title insurance company as well as the mortgage lending.

The decision is not reproducible here, but we do love the huge number of Mattone names in the defendant law firm's name: Mattone, Mattone, Mattone, Mattone, Mattone, Magna & Todd.

Full post as published by New York Attorney Malpractice Blog on February 18, 2009 (boomark / email).