Justice Emily Jane Goodman
Decided: Oct. 5, 2009
The following illustrates why members of the public may hold cynical views about the legal profession. This motion seeks to renew and reargue denial of a motion to restore a counterclaim for disbursements from defendants’ former client. Granted to the extent of considering the present submission; but on reargument the motion is denied.
A legal malpractice action against Benedict P. Morelli & Associates, P.C. (Defendants/Movants) of plaintiff resulted from the representation of plaintiff in a medical malpractice action. In that medical malpractice action, which was dismissed as untimely, Victoria Kremen (Plaintiff/Client) claimed that certain doctors and hospitals misdiagnosed her as having breast cancer, when she did not; the result was an unnecessary bi-lateral mastectomy. (Kremen v. Brower, Index No. 112829/01, Joan B. Carey, Sup Ct NY County 2001, affd, Kremen v. Brower, 16 AD3d 156 [1st Dept 2005]). This Court’s denial of summary judgment to defendants in the ensuing legal malpractice action which was based on the prior case being dismissed on statute of limitations grounds, was reversed (in connection with a time calculation of Plaintiffs’ filing bankruptcy) and the legal malpractice action was dismissed (Kremen v. Benedict P. Morelli & Assoc. P.C., 54 AD3d 596 [1st Dept 2008]).
