Attorney obtained summary judgment in a complex legal malpractice case involving a high value real estate deal

Attorney obtained summary judgment in a complex legal malpractice case involving a high value real estate deal. Defendant represented one of the buyers. After the deal fell through, defendant filed suit against the sellers and their attorneys, and the sellers' attorneys sued defendant for tortious interference with their client relationship and for fraud and ethics violations. The plaintiffs opposed defendant's initial summary judgment motion by arguing that a judge who previously was managing the case stated in dicta that the suit filed by defendant was in bad faith. Defndant prevailed on a motion for reconsideration by convincing the judge that the plaintiffs could not prove malice, which is a critical element of a tortious interference claim, and that the previous judge's ruling was in error because he did not have a complete record before him.