A New Jersey appeals court has ruled that a trial judge hearing a legal malpractice lawsuit lacked jurisdiction when he trimmed the plaintiff-side lawyers’ fees from $2.1 million to $359,000.

The trial judge lacked jurisdiction to hear a dispute between the plaintiff and her counsel over the hefty legal bill, the appeals court said. The judge had no subject-matter jurisdiction to adjudicate the fee dispute because the plaintiff’s attorneys were not parties to the case and had not filed a collection action, the appeals court said.