From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

Lai v. Gartlan

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department
Apr 11, 2006
28 A.D.3d 263 (N.Y. App. Div. 2006)

Opinion

8263, 8264.

April 11, 2006.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Charles E. Ramos, J.), entered March 25, 2004, which, to the extent appealed from as limited by the briefs, denied so much of defendant Wankoff's motion to dismiss plaintiffs' fraud cause of action but granted dismissal of the cause of action for legal malpractice, and order, same court and Justice, entered January 12, 2005, which, to the extent appealable and appealed from, denied plaintiffs' motion to renew the order of March 25, 2004, unanimously modified, on the law, the fraud claim dismissed, and otherwise affirmed, without costs.

Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman Dicker LLP, New York (Richard E. Lerner of counsel), for appellant-respondent.

Kirkpatrick Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP, New York (Michael R. Gordon of counsel), for Dunnie Lai, respondent-appellant.

Drabkin Margulies, New York (Ralph Drabkin of counsel), for Generation Properties Investment Co., respondent-appellant.

Before: Andrias, J.P., Saxe, Sullivan, Williams and McGuire, JJ. Concur.


Plaintiffs' legal malpractice claims were time-barred. The documentation plaintiffs submitted showed only the continuation of a general professional relationship, and not an ongoing representation concerning the specific matters from which their claims arose ( see Parlato v. Equitable Life Assur. Socy. of U.S., 299 AD2d 108, lv denied 99 NY2d 508; cf. Shumsky v. Eisenstein, 96 NY2d 164). Furthermore, the second amended complaint failed to plead fraud by Wankoff with sufficient specificity ( see CPLR 3016 [b]). Plaintiffs failed, inter alia, to allege any material misrepresentation by Wankoff or any material omission he knew to be false ( see J.A.O. Acquisition Corp. v. Stavitsky, 18 AD3d 389).


Summaries of

Lai v. Gartlan

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department
Apr 11, 2006
28 A.D.3d 263 (N.Y. App. Div. 2006)
Case details for

Lai v. Gartlan

Case Details

Full title:DUNNIE LAI et al., Respondents-Appellants, et al., Plaintiff, v. H.J…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department

Date published: Apr 11, 2006

Citations

28 A.D.3d 263 (N.Y. App. Div. 2006)
2006 N.Y. Slip Op. 2655
811 N.Y.S.2d 917

Citing Cases

Binn v. Muchnick, Golieb & Golieb, P.C.

As such, there was no "mutual understanding of the need for further representation on the specific subject…

LAI v. GARTLAN

However, at best, plaintiffs have demonstrated that there may have been a "general professional relationship"…