Statutory Liens.

After a medical malpractice action settled, plaintiff's current counsel moved to preclude one of plaintiff's former counsels from an entitlement to an award of attorney's fees, arguing, among other things, that the original retainer agreement did not specify the retained attorney's name.

The Second Department said the former counsel is entitled to fees, in Fuentes v. Brookhaven Memorial Hospital, which was decided on September 18, 2007. The court said that the former counsel has a statutory lien, pursuant to Judiciary Law § 475, against the settlement proceeds since he was an attorney of record, he had filed the summons and complaint, and he had prosecuted the action to the point of trial.

The court gave short shrift to the fact that certain sections of the retainer agreement had been left blank, since they were not the subject of the dispute. In addition, the former counsel had filed his own retainer agreement, albeit late, and this was sufficient under the circumstances to preserve his right to recover a share of the fee.