Melito & Adolfsen P.C. Legal Articles
NY Court of Appeals upholds $44 million contingency fee for 5 months work, concluding that to assess fairness would be “dangerous business”
The New York State Court of Appeals has ruled that a contingency fee agreement that netted Graubard Miller $44 million for five months' work was valid and enforceable. According to the court, the law firm took substantial risks by making the agreement with Alice...
NY Court of Appeals holds that a client’s failure to appeal bars a legal malpractice action only where the client was likely to have succeeded on appeal in the underlying action.
Addressing a question of first impression in Grace v. Law, et al., the Court of Appeals adopted the plaintiff-client's contention that a "likely to succeed" standard should be applied, rejecting the defendant-attorneys' contention that a malpractice claim should be...
NY Court of Appeals wrestles with whether insurer that responds to tendering insurer instead of to purported additional insured violates Insurance Law §3420(d) invalidating disclaimer
On 10/22/14, the Court of Appeals heard argument in Sierra v. 4401 Sunset Park. The Court had granted Scottsdale leave to appeal from the Second Department's ruling that Scottsdale's disclaimer to GNY, which had tendered an additional insured claim on behalf of its...
Do Lawyers Professional Liability Policies fall within the “no prejudice” amendments to New York’s Insurance Law for late notice?
The New York State Insurance Department has issued an ambiguous opinion taking the position that the amendment to Insurance Law §3420(a)(5), changing the "no prejudice" rule, applies to all liability policies, which arguably would include Lawyer Professional...
Defendant has counsel at trial but appellate court says trial judge’s evidentiary ruling denied him his right to counsel
Sometimes the legal result in a case just seems to make no sense. Here is one of those instances. A defendant was on trial. Another defendant had pled guilty in connection with the same crime. The defendant who was on trial wanted the jury to be informed that the...
Judge in NY County Supreme Court encourages insured to appeal her decision, following Mighty Midgets case, ruling that insured is not entitled to recover attorneys’ fees in affirmative DJ action
In a highly unusual decision, Judge Shirley Kornreich in Madison 96th Associates v. 17th East Owners Corporation, 43 Misc.3d 1210(A), denied an attorney-fee award to a prevailing plaintiff-insured in a declaratory judgment action but encouraged the insured to appeal...
How one family’s horrific loss of their daughter is shedding light on the complexities of establishing “the right to be forgotten” on the internet
An 18-year-old woman was decapitated when she drove her father's sports car into the side of a concrete toll booth in California. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) secured the scene and took photographs. It was so horrific that the local coroner did not allow the...
Judge Posner’s suggestion in his concurrence in U.S. v. Boyce to rewrite the hearsay rule and its exceptions is generating a lot of Debate
Judge Posner in the 7th Circuit, widely regarded as one of the more thoughtful judges, believes that "the 'hearsay rule' is too complex as well as being archaic." In U.S. v. Boyce, Boyce was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was convicted...
Connecticut Supreme Court addresses insurer standing to pursue DJ against another insurer, “known injury” exclusion, allocation and more in Travelers v. Netherlands
In Travelers Cas. & Sur. Co. of America v. The Netherlands Ins. Co., the Connecticut Supreme Court recently ruled on several significant insurance coverage issues, including whether an insurer has standing to pursue a declaratory judgment ruling on behalf of its...
Whether faulty workmanship constitutes an “occurence” continues to be revisited by courts across the country
Is there a shift in the longstanding majority view, including in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, that construction defect claims do not constitute an occurrence when the damage is to the insured's own work because it lacks the requisite fortuity? The issue needs...