Legal Updates for Lawyers’ Professional Liability - CASE LAW UPDATE

In an important decision issued earlier this year, the New York State Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a Judiciary Law § 487 claim against an attorney but removed an available defense for attorneys subject to subject to such claims.  
Urias v. Buttafuoco, 41 N.Y.3d 560 (2024)

In, the plaintiff claimed that her former attorney, who obtained a large settlement on her behalf in the underlying medical malpractice action, improperly calculated the fee under the sliding scale fee agreement, which is statutorily-mandated in New York in medical malpractice actions.  Buttafuoco argued his fees were approved in two written orders from the judge who presided over the underlying malpractice claim and that the plaintiff was required to move to vacate those orders before she could bring an action under Judiciary Law § 487, which allows a party to recover treble damages where "[a]n attorney . . . [i]s guilty of any deceit or collusion . . . with intent to deceive the court or any party.”  

The Court of Appeals held that Judiciary Law § 487 allows a plenary action for attorney deceit, even if the claim could undermine a separate final order judgment.  In so holding, the Court of Appeals overruled the Appellate Division, Second Department, which had ruled that Urias's sole remedy was to move under CPLR § 5015 to vacate the underlying orders.  Fortunately for Buttafuoco, the Court of Appeals found that he did not engage in any deceit or collusion in calculating his fees and, thus, affirmed the dismissal of the complaint against him.  

^{Legal Updates for Lawyers’ Professional Liability – November 2024 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. We would be pleased to provide such legal assistance as you require on these and other subjects when called upon. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1 Copyright © 2024 Marshall Dennehey, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints or inquiries, or if you wish to be removed from this mailing list, contact tamontemuro@mdwcg.com.}