The New York Court of Appeals held Thursday that past actions taken in a lawsuit should not be thrown out if the initial attorney bringing the litigation is found to have violated Section 470 of the state’s judiciary law, which requires an attorney bringing litigation in the state to maintain a permanent office in New York.

The ruling was a unanimous reversal of a decision last year by the Appellate Division, which said litigation should have to start fresh if an attorney is found to have violated that law, making all past actions in the lawsuit null and void.