04-2-9024 Heathcote v. Gidding, Esq., App. Div. (per curiam) (19 pp.) Defendant represented plaintiff in his divorce proceeding. Plaintiff filed a complaint seeking compensatory damages alleging that defendant provided negligent legal services to him during the divorce litigation causing him to enter an improvident settlement. Relying on Puder v. Buechel, and the absence of an expert to support some of plaintiff’s claims, the motion judge granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment. The record demonstrated that plaintiff understood the terms of the settlement, freely and voluntarily agreed to each term, and readily stated he believed the settlement was fair to both parties under all of the circumstances. Further, certain elements of plaintiff’s negligence claim must be supported by expert opinion. The appellate panel finds the motion judge properly granted summary judgment to defendant.
