A doctor who claims he had to take on a huge tax burden to pay his ex-wife $1.2 million pursuant to a divorce settlement can bring a malpractice claim against the matrimonial lawyer who advised him to sign the allegedly “unrealistic” stipulation, a state appeals court has ruled.

Seth Fielding claims he incurred heavy taxes when he dipped into a retirement account to satisfy the stipulation, which provided that the payment was to be made from “immediately available” funds.