Articles Posted in Divorce Malpractice

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Judicial estoppel is a doctrine that penalizes a litigant who takes one position in one lawsuit and a contrary position in another lawsuit. In other words, the litigant’s position shifts based on the litigant’s interests in a particular case. Kershaw v. Levy, Tennessee Court of Appeals, No. M2017-01129-COA-R3-CV., is a divorce malpractice case where the plaintiff’s claims against her former lawyer ran into the judicial estoppel doctrine. The lawyer entered the divorce case and Kershaw was promptly held in contempt of court and sentenced to 30 days in jail. Later, the lawyer settled the divorce case and obtained an order vacating the contempt finding.  When Ms. Kershaw sued him for legal malpractice the lawyer filed a motion arguing that she was judicially estopped from bringing claims based on the divorce settlement.

The court summarizes the judicial estoppel argument in this fashion:

On March 1, 2017, Mr. Levy filed a motion for summary judgment contending that Ms. Kershaw should be judicially estopped from claiming in the malpractice case that her damages from Mr. Levy’s negligence resulted from an inequitable settlement agreement with Elliot Kershaw when she previously claimed under oath that the settlement had been equitable. Further, Mr. Levy argued that Ms. Kershaw should not be allowed to pursue any malpractice claim against him based on her criminal contempt convictions because they had been vacated and she voluntarily relinquished her right to pursue any post-conviction relief related to them in the MDA. Ms. Kershaw responded in opposition to the motion for summary judgment, asserting the damage resulting from Mr. Levy’s alleged negligence left her with no bargaining power in her settlement negotiations with Mr. Kershaw, and the fact that she entered into an agreement several months after Mr. Levy’s involvement that stated the settlement with Mr. Kershaw was fair and equitable was irrelevant.

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The case is DePalma v. Maya Murphy, 16 cv 8933, from the Southern District of New York.  The relevant opinion is dated December 1, 2017.

The plaintiff, Carol DePalma, sued her former divorce attorney and the court-appointed financial expert. This post will deal with the claims against the financial expert. During the divorce the parties chose and the court appointed an accounting firm, KLG, LLC. KLG was to render an opinion as to the value of Husband’s interest in Shred-It, a company in the shredding business. KLG issued two reports and the parties ultimately settled the divorce case.

Carol then sued KLG for negligence, for its purported failure to value the interest in Shred-It after it merged with another company.  The court dismissed the negligence claim against KLG and explained that the opinion of KLG did not proximately cause any injury to Carol. The explanation:

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After his divorce case concluded Lancaster sued his former attorney for malpractice. The claim included allegations of fraudulent billing and other claims. The lawyer raised the defense of res judicata. Res judicata is a phrase borrowed from Latin which bars a litigant from re-litigating a claim that was previously litigated to judgment. The basis for the res judicata claim was that the lawyer had filed a fee petition in the divorce case seeking a judgment for fees against Lancaster. The trial court awarded fees. The legal malpractice case was held to be barred by res judicata. The court agreed with the lawyer that the claims for legal malpractice could have been raised in the fee proceeding.

Comment: this is a fairly broad reading of res judicata. Courts are often reluctant to allow the res judicata defense in legal malpractice cases because the whole point of the legal malpractice case is usually that the client lost the underlying case because the lawyer made an error. If the courts applied res judicata in every case that the client lost, malpractice liability would be swallowed up by res judicata. Because this particular case contained allegations that the lawyer’s bills were fraudulent after they had been approved by a court, res judicata makes more sense here. In any event, res judicata remains a controversial defense to the legal malpractice action.

Edward X. Clinton, Jr.

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This is a divorce malpractice case where a lawyer allegedly failed to timely appeal a divorce judgment against his client. His client (Ex-Husband) claimed that the failure to appeal constituted legal malpractice. The Georgia courts disagreed. The holding: even though the lawyer missed the deadline to appeal, there was no legal malpractice because Ex-Husband’s appeal had no merit. Put in more blunt terms, the courts found that Ex-Husband was an adulterer and, in the State of Georgia, was going to lose the divorce case.

The explanation:

We conclude that, as a matter of law, Ward failed to demonstrate that the divorce court abused its discretion and that the Supreme Court thus would have reversed the award but for Benson’s error. Although Ward complained that the divorce court gave undue weight to his alleged adultery, the amended order indicates that the court did consider “all the relevant factors” and did not improperly consider evidence of Ward’s adultery. “[E]ven though an adulterous spouse cannot obtain alimony, an equitable property division is still permissible. . . . However, where equitable division of property is in issue, the conduct of the parties, both during the marriage and with reference to the cause of the divorce, is relevant and admissible.”[

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Plaintiff and his wife entered into a post-nuptial agreement. They eventually retained a mediator to assist the negotiations. Plaintiff sued the mediator for legal malpractice. His case was dismissed because he had his own lawyers and because the mediator was not his attorney. The court explained:

Goldstein also produced documentary evidence that utterly refutes plaintiff’s claim that an attorney-client relationship existed. Plaintiff’s complaint (Goldstein’s counsel, exh A) attaches a copy of the post-nuptial agreement signed by both plaintiff and Comstock. Paragraph 1.1 of the post-nuptial agreement states that “Each party acknowledges that his or her separate legal counsel has examined the attached financial information, has advised him or her with respect to same, and that each party fully understands the contents of such financial information of the other” (id.). Paragraph 1.2 states that “Each party acknowledges that: (a) he or she has had legal counsel of his or her own selection who advised him or her fully with respect to his or her rights in and to the property and income of the other and with respect to the effect of this Agreement and that such party understands such advice” (id.).

This agreement makes clear that each party consulted with his or her own attorney before signing the agreement. Further, plaintiff’s complaint supports this conclusion. Plaintiff alleges that defendants Fleischer and Berkman Bottger (the firm) were retained by plaintiff on or about March 22, 2013 to “review the Post-Nuptial Agreement drafted by Defendant Lori H. Goldstein” (plaintiff’s complaint ¶ 51). Clearly, plaintiff did have his own individual counsel review the agreement before he signed it.

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In divorce cases that settle, the judge will hold a prove-up hearing. During that hearing, the parties are asked questions about the Marital Settlement Agreement. If a litigant testifies that the settlement was fair and appropriate, can he later sue his lawyer for “coercing” him into settling the case? The answer in Michigan is “No.” The legal doctrine is judicial estoppel – which provides that a litigant cannot assert contradictory positions in two cases. In this case, the wife testified at the prove-up that she agreed to the terms of the settlement. Later, she sued her divorce lawyer for legal malpractice and alleged that she was “tricked” into settling. The court dismissed the case and the Appellate Court affirmed in an unpublished opinion. The court essentially reasoned that it was unfair for the plaintiff to obtain the benefits of a settlement (to which she consented) and then turn around and sue her lawyer.

The reasoning:

At the heart of plaintiff’s legal malpractice case is her assertion that she was tricked and/or coerced into agreeing to the settlement at the March 28, 2012 hearing at her divorce proceeding. But the doctrine of judicial estoppel renders her claims meritless. Judicial estoppel, described as the doctrine against the assertion of inconsistent positions, is a tool used by courts to impede those litigants that “play `fast and loose’ with the legal system.” Paschke v Retool Indus, 445 Mich 502, 509; 519 NW2d 441 (1994) (citation omitted). Under this doctrine, a party that has successfully and unequivocally asserted a position in a prior proceeding is estopped from asserting an inconsistent position in a subsequent proceeding. Wells Fargo Bank, NA v Null, 304 Mich App 508, 537; 847 NW2d 657 (2014); Detroit Int’l Bridge Co v Commodities Export Co, 279 Mich App 662, 672; 760 NW2d 565 (2008).

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The plaintiff filed a malpractice claim against her divorce lawyers. However, her claim did not succeed because she did not provide expert testimony. That testimony, from a family law lawyer, would be necessary to show negligence.

This is one of those truths that we cannot repeat enough times – an expert is needed to show how the lawyer’s performance fell short of the standard of care.

Source: Nolan v. Ernst, 2017 Ohio 1011 – Ohio: Court of Appeals, 12th Appellate Dist. 2017 – Google Scholar

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A common legal malpractice claim made against a divorce lawyer is that the lawyer failed to take sufficient discovery of the ex-spouse’s assets. Here, Engelman brought such a claim. The claim was defeated, however, by representations in the settlement documents that showed that the client disregarded the lawyers’ advice and rushed into a settlement:

Furthermore, Engelman also failed to establish that the attorneys’ actions were the proximate cause of her alleged damages. Engelman voluntarily signed the divorce agreement, which she negotiated and begged her attorneys to get ready for her to sign. As detailed above, Engelman insisted on going forward with presenting a counteroffer to her former husband’s attorney in spite of the advice from the attorneys to slow down and try to mediate. Kessler felt that this decision to not follow his advice was so significant that he urged Tobin to put in writing for Engelman the risks of sending the counteroffer. Throughout the negotiations regarding the proposed settlement agreement, Engelman continued to communicate to the attorneys that it was urgent the settlement agreement get finalized because she needed the money she would receive from the divorce in order to buy a house. Tobin even tried to get Engelman to move back her closing date on the house because it was in her best interest to slow down.

There are few rules of law more fundamental than that which requires a party to read what he signs and to be bound thereby. This rule has particular force when the party is well educated and laboring under no disabilities. To hold otherwise is to create the potential for malpractice litigation in every contract dispute.(Citation and punctuation omitted.) Hudson, 202 Ga. App. at 887 (3).

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This is an unpublished case which had an interesting result. Plaintiff was represented by the Defendant attorney in her divorce case. Her husband, David Whittlemore, was apparently in financial difficulties. David Whittlemore offered an unusual settlement term to his soon to be ex-wife. He claimed that his wealthy brother Harvey would guarantee his maintenance obligations to her. In 2011, David filed for bankruptcy and the plaintiff contacted her lawyer who, after some correspondence, revealed that the wealthy brother had never signed the guarantee. Plaintiff then brought a legal malpractice claim against her former attorney.

The court set forth the facts as follows:

On October 11, 2007, Ms. Whittemore and her husband, Mr. David Whittemore, placed a settlement agreement on the record. Under the agreement, David Whittemore agreed to make monthly alimony payments until December 2021. He also agreed to procure a guaranty for his alimony payments from his wealthy brother, Mr. Harvey Whittemore.

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This is a post written by Wendy Dessler.

Suing a Divorce Attorney for Malpractice

So you thought you had hired the perfect divorce lawyer for your case but after the fact you don’t feel they performed as they should have. Do you feel like your divorce attorney did not handle your divorce case accurately?  You may have the option to sue your divorce lawyer for malpractice damages.  But before you do there are some things you should consider.

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