Boston Legal Malpractice LawyerThe Massachusetts Court of Appeals, located in Boston, has affirmed a judgment dismissing a legal malpractice claim against a Massachusetts attorney. In Resnick v Baker, a client hired an attorney to represent him in a property dispute. The attorney obtained a favorable result for the client, but failed to timely file a motion seeking payment of the client’s attorney’s fees. The judge granted the opposition’s motion to strike the request for fees.
Articles Tagged with legal malpractice
Canha v. Gubellini, No. 12-P-923: Massachusetts Appeals Court Affirms Dismissal of Legal Malpractice Action
The Massachusetts Court of Appeals, located in Boston, affirmed the dismissal of a legal malpractice action brought against a Massachusetts attorney. In Canha v. Gubellini, a client hired an attorney to represent her in a legal malpractice action against her former lawyer.
Scanlon v. Dukess, No. 13-P-495: Massachusetts Court of Appeals Affirms Summary Judgment for Attorney in Legal Malpractice Action
The Massachusetts Court of Appeals, located in Boston, affirmed summary judgment in favor of an attorney in a legal malpractice case. In Scanlon v. Dukess, a real estate investor sold a property in Brockton, Massachusetts and sought to purchase a replacement property in order to defer capital gains tax on the sale, which is permitted by federal statute 26 U.S.C. § 1031 and is known as a ‘1031 exchange’.
Under that statute, the investor had to identify to the IRS possible replacements within 45 days of the sale of the Brockton property and then complete the purchase within 180 days. The investor listed three properties, but only one in Taunton, which was leased by a drugstore, qualified for a 1031 exchange.
After the 45 days had passed, the investor consulted his long time attorney about the purchase of the Taunton property. The attorney advised him that he would have to assume the existing lease, but failed to inform him that the lease did not contain a condemnation clause, which would prevent the drugstore from sharing in the proceeds of an eminent domain taking. The investor purchased the property on the final day of the 180 day period.