In Amari v. Griffin, 5:20-cv-00050 (W.D. Virginia January 27, 2021), the district court denied an attorney’s motion to dismiss a divorce malpractice case. Amari argued that her former attorney in her divorce case (Griffin) failed to properly investigate her ex-husband’s assets and failed to retain appropriate experts. This is, in…
Sammet v. Helline is an unpublished decision of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky. The case number is 2018-CA-1033. The story is familiar: a divorce lawyer sued for unpaid legal fees and received a legal malpractice counterclaim in return. Here, the lawyer prevailed as the former client was unable to…
The case, Nancy Setterquist v. Law Offices of Ted D. Billbe, P.C., N0. 18-35880, is an unpublished decision of the Ninth Circuit that raises important issues. The case is a divorce malpractice case. Setterquist alleged that her lawyer allowed the court to enter an erroneous order. Based on the text…
In Flusser v. Bikel, 2019 NY Slip Op 32847(U), the plaintiff was involved in a contentious divorce. She discharged one firm and then hired the Defendant law firm (Bikel v. Mandarano) to represent her. At the conclusion of the divorce case, Plaintiff filed a legal malpractice claim against the Defendant…
One of the more common issues that arise in a legal malpractice case is when did the claim arise? In Schwab v. Zarhadnik, 18-1118, the Iowa Court of Appeals held that a divorce malpractice claim accrued on the date of the divorce decree. Plaintiff alleged that her attorney failed to…
A guardian ad litem is a lawyer who is appointed to represent the interests of a minor child in a divorce case. Often a divorce litigant comes to believe that the guardian ad litem is the cause of their problems. No matter how upset you may be, you cannot sue…
The case is Knox v. Aronson, Mayefsky & Sloan, LLP, 2018 NY Slip Op 9030. The plaintiff was represented in her divorce by two law firms and she sued both firms in this legal malpractice case. Plaintiff lost a custody fight with her ex-husband and was ordered to pay attorney…
The case is GB v. Christine Rossi, A-240-17T3. The case was decided in New Jersey and is an unpublished opinion. The case illustrates one problem with legal malpractice cases – there may be wrongful conduct, but the plaintiff must tie the wrongful conduct to her damages. Plaintiff was getting divorced.…
The case is captioned William Molim Siu v. The Cavanagh Law Firm, 1-CA-CV 17-0601 (Arizona Court of Appeals). Siu sued his former lawyer for alleged negligence in handling Siu’s divorce case. The divorce case was heard by an Arbitrator who ruled that certain property owned by Siu before the marriage became…
The case is Holtzman v. Griffith, 2018 NY Slip Op 04540, decided by the Appellate Division, Second Department. Holtzman sued for fees and his former client, Griffith, counterclaimed for legal malpractice. The trial court on the basis of an account stated ordered Griffith to pay the legal fees that were…