A New York state judge has permitted a legal malpractice suit to proceed against plaintiffs lawyers who allegedly failed to seek a bankruptcy extension for their client, causing her medical malpractice case to be thrown out as untimely.
In denying a motion to dismiss the action against law firms Morelli Ratner and Schapiro & Reich, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Emily Jane Goodman said a combination of equitable estoppel and the U.S. Bankruptcy Code’s tolling of statutes of limitations might have saved the underlying lawsuit, even though the medical malpractice at issue took place over a decade ago.
