Opinion
296 154865/13.
02-23-2016
Michael KATZ, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Howard ESSNER, et al., Defendants–Respondents.
Michael Katz, Katonah, for appellant. Furman Kornfeld & Brennan LLP, New York (A. Michael Furman of counsel), for respondents.
Michael Katz, Katonah, for appellant.
Furman Kornfeld & Brennan LLP, New York (A. Michael Furman of counsel), for respondents.
Opinion
Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Eileen A. Rakower, J.), entered November 20, 2014, which, insofar as appealed from as limited by the briefs, granted defendants' motion to dismiss the causes of action for legal malpractice and for violations of Judiciary Law § 487, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
Even if defendants' alleged acts or omissions rose to the level of negligence, plaintiff's allegations in support of his legal malpractice claim and Judiciary Law claims remain conclusory, speculative and contradicted by the documentary evidence submitted on the motion to dismiss (see Schloss v. Steinberg, 100 A.D.3d 476, 954 N.Y.S.2d 37 1st Dept.2012 ). Plaintiff failed to show that he was actually injured by defendants' alleged neglect, or meet the “case within a case” requirement, demonstrating that “but for” defendants' conduct he would have obtained a better settlement (see Warshaw Burstein Cohen Schlesinger & Kuh, LLP v. Longmire, 106 A.D.3d 536, 965 N.Y.S.2d 458 1st Dept.2013, lv. dismissed 21 N.Y.3d 1059, 974 N.Y.S.2d 28, 996 N.E.2d 909 2013 [internal quotation marks omitted] ).
Furthermore, in response to questions from defendant Essner, plaintiff stated on the record of the stipulation of settlement that he was satisfied with the services that defendants provided. Under the circumstances presented, including that plaintiff is an attorney, the motion court properly dismissed the complaint (see Harvey v. Greenberg, 82 A.D.3d 683, 919 N.Y.S.2d 519 1st Dept.2011 ).