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Attorney Failed to File a Notice of Claim Against NYC - Legal Malpractice Claimant Beats Dismissal Motion

On January 11, 2019, Justice Peter Sweeney of the Kings County Supreme Court denied a motion to dismiss a legal malpractice claim against a personal injury attorney who neglected to  file a Notice of Claim against the City of New York within 90 days of the accident. The plaintiff suffered injuries when he tripped and fell on a raised sidewalk in front of a single family owner occupied home in Brooklyn. The defendant was retained to file a personal injury action and sued the owner of the adjacent property who successfully argued that he had no legal obligation to repair the sidewalk fronting his home as per NYC Administrative Code 7-210(b). The obligation to maintain that sidewalk was on the City and there was evidence that it had prior written notice of the defective sidewalk as required by law. By the time the case against the homeowner was dismissed it was too late to file a motion for leave to file a late Notice of Claim.

The attorney moved to dismiss the legal malpractice claim arguing two points: 1) that any claim that the plaintiff would have prevailed in a suit against the City was speculative; and, 2) that plaintiff could still file suit against the homeowner for failing to remove the snow from the sidewalk which concealed the raised sidewalk flag. These arguments were flatly rejected since the client had indeed lost a "potentially" meritorious claim against the City due to attorney error. The Court did provide some relief to the defendant attorney by dismissing the breach of contract and fiduciary duty causes of action as they were duplicative of the legal malpractice cause of action. Salamah v Ginsberg, PC, 2019 WL 235390

Ronald C. Burke, Esq

Trial Attorney with 30+ Years of Experience Attorney Ronald C. Burke, Esq. has more than 30 years of experience and has focused his career on representing clients in cases involving personal injury, medical malpractice and legal malpractice. He is a seasoned trial lawyer and has won many seven-figure settlements and verdicts for his clients over the years, including many case victories listed among the largest in the history of the New York State. He has been featured in the news and is a regular lecturer for the New York County Lawyers Association, as well as having lectured before the New York State Bar Association. Ron is also an attorney with Kelner & Kelner, a New York personal injury law firm. Awards and Accolades Mr. Burke's awards and accolades are many. Among them, he has been included in New York Super Lawyers® each year since 2010, and he has received the highest-possible AV® Rating from Martindale-Hubbell®. Verdict Search, a part of the New York Law Journal, frequently recognizes his notable successes after winning some of the highest settlements and verdicts in past years. He was also featured in their list of the "Top New York Verdicts " and "Top New York Settlements." He is a member of the New York State Bar Association and is licensed to practice law in the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, as well as before the United States Supreme Court. When Attorney Burke is not handling legal malpractice cases, he is highly involved in the local community. He was a member of the Village of Rockville Centre Volunteer Fire Department, has served on the local school board and as Chairman of the local Zoning Board. Learn more about Attorney Burke and how he can skillfully handle your malpractice case by contacting the Law Offices of Ronald C. Burke, Esq. right away to schedule your complimentary case evaluation. Our firm is here to help! Contact a New York Legal Malpractice Attorney Our firm provides each client's case with thorough preparation and aggressive representation, ensuring that you win the best possible results for your case whether it is settled or goes to trial. As a seasoned trial lawyer, Mr. Burke can provide the strong and relentless representation you need to establish negligence in a legal malpractice case and to recover any damages you may have suffered. Our firm can recover compensation for pre-trial and trial malpractice, violations of fee arrangements, loss of income, pain and suffering, and much more. Contact us today!

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