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Client Claims Attorney Negligent For Advising She File For Bankruptcy Relief - Case Dismissed As Client Lacks Legal Capacity

On May 29, 2019, an appellate court agreed that a client's claim for legal malpractice is no longer the property of the client once they file for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 7 of the US Bankruptcy Code. In March 2012 the plaintiff/client filed for bankruptcy and 3 years later sued the attorney's who she claimed improvidently advised to do so. The lower court dismissed the case based on well settled law that holds once someone files "a voluntary bankruptcy petition, all property which a debtor owns, including a cause of action, vests in the bankruptcy estate."

Any claim for legal malpractice arising out of the bankruptcy filing accrued on the date the petition for bankruptcy protection was filed. As such, the client no longer had the right to sue her attorney's - that right belonged only to the Trustee of the bankrupt estate. As such the appellate court agreed that the legal malpractice suit filed by the bankrupt client was dismissed on the ground that she lacked the legal capacity to make such a claim. Burbacki v Abrams, Fensterman 2019 WL 2275309

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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