Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP v Amira  Nature Foods, Ltd.  2017 NY Slip Op 30488(U) March 13, 2017 Supreme Court, New York County  Docket Number: 158126/2016
Judge: Carol R. Edmead is a fine example of the attorney fee claim-legal malpractice counterclaim paradigm.  This one ended well for the law firm.

“On August 6, 2015, Bruce Wacha (“Wacha”), Defendant’s Chief Financial Officer, engaged Plaintiff to represent Defendant in connection with a short selling attack against it.2 On August 7, 2015, the parties signed the written retention agreement (“Retention Agreement”), wherein Defendant agreed to “investigate, advise, advocate, and potentially litigate concerning, among other things, the dissemination of misinformation related to [Defendant], the manipulation of its securities, and harm caused to its business, reputation, and interests” (Retention Agreement, at p.1 ). The Retention Agreement further states that, “[i]n addition to legal fees, you will be charged for other expenses incurred in connection with our representation of you …. This retention may also include investigative work by our affiliate Intelligence Options LLC” (“IO”) (id. at p.2).”

“On August 19, 2015, Plaintiff withdrew as counsel with Defendant’s consent. On November 3, 2015, Defendant e-mailed plaintiff for the return of the remainder of the retainer fee. On November 5, 2015, Plaintiff sent Defendant its invoice-for the first time-for services provided from August 6, 2015 until August 21, 2015 (the “Invoice”).3 The aggregate amount of Plaintiffs representation of Defendant totaled $23 7 ,603 :98: fees of $143,236 for legal work, and costs of $94,367.98, of which $91,843.36 was attributable to investigative services by IO (Id.) ”

“To state a cause of action for account stated, plaintiff must allege defendant’s receipt and retention of the subject statement of account ~ithout proper objection within a reasonable time (Goldmuntz v. Schneider, 99 A.D.3d 544, 952 N_.Y.S.2d 172 [1st Dept 2012]). Where an account is rendered showing a balance, if the party receiving the account fails to dispute its correctness or completeness, that party will be bound by it as an account stated, unless fraud, mistake or other equitable considerations are shown (Shaw v. Silver, 95 A.D.3d 416, 943 N.Y.S.2d 89 [1st Dept 2012], citing Peterson v. !BJ Schroder Bank & Trust Co, 172 A.D.2d 165 [1st Dept 1991]). General objections to an invoice are insufficient to defeat a motion for summary judgment (Morrison Cohen Singer & Weinstein, LLP v. Ackerman, 280 A.D.2d 355, 356, 720 N.Y.S.2d 486 [1st Dept 2001 ]). ”

“Plaintiff fails to demonstrate a prima facie showing that it is entitled to summary judgment for its account stated claim. Plaintiffs submissions indicate that Wacha issued sufficiently specific written objections to Plaintiffs Invoice. First, Wacha’s November 16, 2015 e-mail identifies a specific objection: the excessiveness of the Invoice compared with the time devoted an~ scope of work Plaintiff completed. Further, Plaintiffs subsequent email response to Wacha on December 9, 2015 acknowledges Wacha’s objection to the Invoice by attempting to justify the amount billed vis-a-vis work performed, considering the circumstances in which it was accomplished. Second, Wacha’s December 31, 2015 e-mail specifically objects to the disbursements.and billing for legal services after the Notice and Summons were filed, as addressed within the Invoice ((see Herrick, Feinstein LLP v. Stamm, 297 A.D.2d 477, 746 N.Y.S.2d 712 [1st Dept 2002] (holding that “a trier of fact could reasonably conclude that defendant’s alleged statement … with plaintiff that he was “very troubled by the size of the bills then in hand” was sufficiently specific and timely to negate any inference of assent to the invoices.”); see also Collier, Cohen, Crystal & Bock v. MacNamara, 237 A.D.2d 152, 655 N. Y.S.2d 10 [1st Dept 1997] (sufficient proof of a timely objection found where “plaintiffs [law] firm itself wrote to defendant acknowledging his complaints and, in its October 1993 motion to withdraw as counsel, the firm gave defendant’s refusal to pay as its reason for seeking withdrawal, stating “upon receipt of the invoice, Mr. MacNamara expressed his intention not to pay the outstanding balance.)). Further, Defendant’s objections were timely. A lapse of two months between the receipt and the objection has been held not so long as to constitute “an unequivocal assent to the balance(s) stated” (Herrick, Feinstein LLP v. Stamm, 297 A.D.2d 477, 478, 478 [1st Dept 2002), quoting Epstein Reiss & Goodman v Greenfield, 102 A.D.2d 749, 750 [1st Dept 1984)). Plaintiff sent the Invoice to Wacha on November 5, 2015. Thereafter, Defendant initially objected on November 16, 2015, eleven days after it received the Invoice, and again on December 31, 2015, just under two months after Plaintiff sent the Invoice. Therefore, the branch of Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment of its account stated claim (Third Cause of Action), is denied. ”

“Plaintiff demonstrates a prima facie showing its entitlement to judgment as a matter of law against Defendant on its breach of contract claim. Specifically, Plaintiff submitted the Retention Agreement, which states that Plaintiff shall provide Defendant legal services in exchange for payment, and further, explicitly states that in the event Plaintiff terminates the Retention Agreement, such “resignation shall not affect [Plaintiffs] right to be paid for all of our previously incurred but unpaid fees? and all of our previously incurred but unpaid charges and disbursements” (Retention Agreement at p.2-3). As the Invoice, Affidavit of Michael Bowe who was “primarily responsible” for Defendant’s legal representation, Plaintiff provided legal services to Defendant. ”

 

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Andrew Lavoott Bluestone

Andrew Lavoott Bluestone has been an attorney for 40 years, with a career that spans criminal prosecution, civil litigation and appellate litigation. Mr. Bluestone became an Assistant District Attorney in Kings County in 1978, entered private practice in 1984 and in 1989 opened…

Andrew Lavoott Bluestone has been an attorney for 40 years, with a career that spans criminal prosecution, civil litigation and appellate litigation. Mr. Bluestone became an Assistant District Attorney in Kings County in 1978, entered private practice in 1984 and in 1989 opened his private law office and took his first legal malpractice case.

Since 1989, Bluestone has become a leader in the New York Plaintiff’s Legal Malpractice bar, handling a wide array of plaintiff’s legal malpractice cases arising from catastrophic personal injury, contracts, patents, commercial litigation, securities, matrimonial and custody issues, medical malpractice, insurance, product liability, real estate, landlord-tenant, foreclosures and has defended attorneys in a limited number of legal malpractice cases.

Bluestone also took an academic role in field, publishing the New York Attorney Malpractice Report from 2002-2004.  He started the “New York Attorney Malpractice Blog” in 2004, where he has published more than 4500 entries.

Mr. Bluestone has written 38 scholarly peer-reviewed articles concerning legal malpractice, many in the Outside Counsel column of the New York Law Journal. He has appeared as an Expert witness in multiple legal malpractice litigations.

Mr. Bluestone is an adjunct professor of law at St. John’s University College of Law, teaching Legal Malpractice.  Mr. Bluestone has argued legal malpractice cases in the Second Circuit, in the New York State Court of Appeals, each of the four New York Appellate Divisions, in all four of  the U.S. District Courts of New York and in Supreme Courts all over the state.  He has also been admitted pro haec vice in the states of Connecticut, New Jersey and Florida and was formally admitted to the US District Court of Connecticut and to its Bankruptcy Court all for legal malpractice matters. He has been retained by U.S. Trustees in legal malpractice cases from Bankruptcy Courts, and has represented municipalities, insurance companies, hedge funds, communications companies and international manufacturing firms. Mr. Bluestone regularly lectures in CLEs on legal malpractice.

Based upon his professional experience Bluestone was named a Diplomate and was Board Certified by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys in 2008 in Legal Malpractice. He remains Board Certified.  He was admitted to The Best Lawyers in America from 2012-2019.  He has been featured in Who’s Who in Law since 1993.

In the last years, Mr. Bluestone has been featured for two particularly noteworthy legal malpractice cases.  The first was a settlement of an $11.9 million dollar default legal malpractice case of Yeo v. Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman which was reported in the NYLJ on August 15, 2016. Most recently, Mr. Bluestone obtained a rare plaintiff’s verdict in a legal malpractice case on behalf of the City of White Plains v. Joseph Maria, reported in the NYLJ on February 14, 2017. It was the sole legal malpractice jury verdict in the State of New York for 2017.

Bluestone has been at the forefront of the development of legal malpractice principles and has contributed case law decisions, writing and lecturing which have been recognized by his peers.  He is regularly mentioned in academic writing, and his past cases are often cited in current legal malpractice decisions. He is recognized for his ample writings on Judiciary Law § 487, a 850 year old statute deriving from England which relates to attorney deceit.