Attorneys successfully obtained an Order for Summary Judgment on behalf of a plaintiff's firm

Attorneys successfully obtained an Order for Summary Judgment on behalf of a plaintiff's firm. The firm had been sued for legal malpractice by their former client because the underlying personal injury matter had been dismissed by the Trial Court, which dismissal was affirmed by the Appellate Division. The plaintiffs argued that in the underlying action, the attorneys had failed to submit an expert report which complied with relevant case law. The Trial Court dismissed the underlying action because the attorneys had failed to submit a report within the time provided under Best Practices. In the legal malpractice action, the plaintiff sought to prove the case by arguing that the defendant attorneys were negligent because (a) they failed to submit an expert report compliant with the time provided in Best Practices; and (b) that had they done so, the case had significant settlement value because the plaintiff had serious injuries, including various back surgeries. Defense attorneys were successful in arguing that the legal malpractice case required testimony from both a medical expert and a legal expert, and that plaintiffs never established the viability of the underlying action because an expert report from a physician was never submitted in the legal malpractice action.