The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has denied allocatur in a legal malpractice case against Spector Gadon & Rosen and one of its attorneys, setting the stage for a new trial against the firm after it won the first one.
Spector Gadon & Rosen and partner Timothy Russell had been sued by former client Windward Agency after Windward’s arbitration claim against Cologne Life Reinsurance Co. was dismissed in 2003 for failure to prosecute. A Philadelphia Common Pleas Court jury found in December 2008 in favor of Spector Gadon and Russell, but Judge Mark I. Bernstein granted Windward’s motion for a new trial, ruling there was no way, in light of the evidence, that the jury could have found the firm and Russell not negligent in failing to timely prosecute Windward’s case. Bernstein did say in his opinion, however, that his finding as a matter of law that the defendants were negligent in their legal representation did not mean Windward would be able to collect any damages.
