The New Jersey Supreme Court has said there wasn’t enough information on record to resolve a case raising the issue of whether the entire controversy doctrine required ex-clients of a New Jersey law firm to pursue a malpractice action as a defense or counterclaim in their former law firm’s suit to collect unpaid fees, and not at a later date.

But the court said the entire controversy doctrine may be applied to bar such a legal malpractice claim “in appropriate settings.”