You are here: / / Action for Contingency Fee; No Demonstration Law Firm Had Been Dischar...

Action for Contingency Fee; No Demonstration Law Firm Had Been Discharged

The plaintiff law firm brought breach of contract cause of action to recover contingency fees under a written retainer agreement.  The motion court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss on the ground the law firm had been discharged.  In reversing the motion court, the First Department wrote:

Although no particular formality is required, the discharge of an attorney is effected by “[a]ny act of the client indicating an unmistakable purpose to sever relations . . .”…. The motion should not have been granted because the amended complaint and the documents attached to it set forth no facts from which an unmistakable purpose to sever the attorney-client relationship can be discerned. … A motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action “must be denied if from the pleadings’ four corners factual allegations are discerned which taken together manifest any cause of action cognizable at law'” … .  Anderson & Anderson, LLP … v North American Foreign Trade Corp, 2-13 NY Slip Op 03430, 1st Dept, 5-14-13

 

 

You might also like
ONLY THE SPECIFIC CONDUCT ENUMERATED IN VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW 1104 (E) IS SUBJECT TO THE HIGHER “RECKLESS DISREGARD” STANDARD OF CARE FOR EMERGENCY VEHICLES; OTHER INJURY-CAUSING ACTIONS INVOLVING THE EMERGENCY VEHICLE ARE SUBJECT TO THE ORDINARY NEGLIGENCE STANDARD (FIRST DEPT).
ALTHOUGH PLAINTIFF, WHO WAS INJURED WHILE REPAIRING AN ESCALATOR, COULD NOT IDENTIFY THE CAUSE OF THE ESCALATOR’S SUDDEN START-UP, THE MOTION TO COMPEL HIM TO SUPPLEMENT HIS ANSWERS TO INTERROGATORIES WAS PROPERLY DENIED; PRODUCTS LIABILITY ACTIONS CAN BE PROVEN BY CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE; AT THIS STAGE PLAINTIFF CAN TESTIFY UNDER OATH THAT HE DOES NOT KNOW THE CAUSE OF THE UNEXPECTED START-UP (FIRST DEPT).
Application to File Late Notice of Claim Should Have Been Granted—Plaintiff Was Incapacitated for Months and the City Contributed to the Delay by Failing to Respond to Freedom of Information Requests
PLAINTIFF’S ALLEGATION DEFENDANT SUPERVISOR CONDITIONED HIS SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF AT WORK ON HER COMPLIANCE WITH HIS DEMANDS FOR SEX SUPPORTED PLAINTIFF’S REQUEST FOR PUNITIVE DAMAGES RE: DEFENDANT SUPERVISOR AND DEFENDANT EMPLOYER (FIRST DEPT).
QUESTIONS OF FACT WHETHER ZIP LINE WAS DEFECTIVE AND WHETHER PLAINTIFF KNEW OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN OF THE RISKS OF USING THE ZIP LINE.
Encroaching Structure Built to Prevent Excavation-Related Damage to Adjoining Property Is a Trespass
Stipulation of No Contact Rendered Performance of Contracts Impossible/Contracts Rescinded
Shareholders’ Requests for Documents for Investigation of Possible Wrongdoing by Corporation Were Facially Legitimate Under the Business Corporation Law (BCL) and Common Law–No Need for Shareholders to Bring a Shareholders’ Derivative Action to Procure the Documents

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2025 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

Governmental Immunity Applied to Preclude Recovery by Bicyclist​ Whether the “Assault and Battery” Exclusion from Coverage Pertained to an...