Legal Malpractice

The First Department found no prima facie case for legal malpractice and dismissed the complaint, in Orchard Motorcycle Distributors, Inc. v. Morrison Cohen Singer & Weinstein, which was decided on March 6, 2008. Plaintiffs did not submit an expert affidavit establishing the appropriate standard of professional care and skill defendant was required to exercise in the underlying action which involved foreclosure matters, complex loan arrangements and bankruptcy proceedings that ordinary jurors could not evaluate based on their own knowledge and experience. The affidavit of plaintiffs' principal was unavailing, since it failed to establish that, but for defendant's alleged malpractice, corporate plaintiffs would have successfully reorganized in Chapter 11. In addition, the court found record evidence that corporate plaintiffs' dire financial situation was brought on by factors independent of defendant's professional representation, rendering speculative the claim that defendant proximately caused plaintiffs' business failure.

New York practice point: Regarding plaintiff's "failure to advise" claim, an attorney does not commit malpractice by choosing one of several reasonable courses of action.