The New Jersey Supreme Court has agreed to take up whether the entire controversy doctrine requires a plaintiff to pursue a malpractice action as a defense or counterclaim when its former law firm sues to collect legal fees.

The justices announced earlier this month that certification was granted in Dimitrakopoulos v. Borrus, Goldin, Foley, Vignuolo, Hyman & Stahl, a legal malpractice case filed by former clients of a law firm three years after resolution of the firm’s collection suit related to its representation of the same clients. A trial court dismissed the malpractice suit as barred by the entire controversy doctrine, and the Appellate Division affirmed. But the plaintiff appealed, and the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.