A defunct law firm can’t arbitrate a fee dispute raised as part of a legal malpractice lawsuit filed by a former client, the Superior Court ruled 2-1 in an unpublished opinion Tuesday.

Senior Judge James J. Fitzgerald III, writing for a majority that included Judge Christine L. Donohue, said that McKissock & Hoffman, as well as attorney J. Bruce McKissock, can’t compel arbitration of a fee dispute they raised as a new matter in a legal malpractice case in which they are defendants.