Legal Malpractice

It's Today's Law, Not Yesterday's in Legal Malpractice

By (Andrew Lavoott Bluestone)

Attorney takes on case for client, and the job is to check whether client can erect a Walgreens in Brooklyn.  Attorney does research, and determines that the building and parking lot will be legal in that zoning.  Attorney, however, fails to check if any new laws have been passed by the NYC Council on zoning recently. Two weeks prior to the report, the Council had passed a law which made the parking lot illegal, and those changes were certified. 

$5 million in loans and construction pre-costs later, plaintiff cannot build the Walgreens,  Legal Malpractice law suit follows.  Will a restrictive retainer agreement be applicable ?  Is the attorney responsible for checking the up-to-date law?

In Santo Nostrand LLC v. Cozen O'Connor  602415/08 we see the answer, at least at the pleading stage.  Plaintiff states a cause of action.  The importance of a parking lot to plaintiff in attempting to contract with Walgreens was known to defendants, and it was their obligation to be up to date on the law.  The case continues.

Full post as published by New York Attorney Malpractice Blog on July 21, 2009 (boomark / email).