FKB’s Spencer A. Richards and Lisa Burns obtain a pre-answer dismissal of a complaint seeking a legal malpractice claim against an attorney where FKB’s client represented plaintiffs in the purchase of a business which was later discovered to have a lien on it.

In a CPLR 3211(a)(1) and (7) motion to dismiss, FKB successfully argued that plaintiff failed to allege legal malpractice. In dismissing the complaint, the Court agreed that FKB’s client was not the proximate cause of plaintiffs’ damages because FKB’s client ordered a lien search on the business prior to the closing. The Court also agreed that FKB’s client’s strategic decision not to perform a separate lien search was subject to the professional judgment rule and was not otherwise a substantial factor in causing plaintiffs’ damages. The Court further adopted FKB’s argument that there is no legal or factual support for plaintiffs’ assertion that FKB’s client should have been on “heightened alert” that the lien search would not discover the lien on the business. The Court also agreed with FKB’s argument that plaintiffs’ allegations are the product of impermissible hindsight speculation because there was no indication that a separate lien search would have uncovered the lien on the business.

If you have any questions about this decision, or the defense of legal malpractice actions in general, please contact Spencer A. Richards or Lisa Burns.