ATTORNEY ENTITLED TO THE REMAINDER OF HER FEE UNDER AN ACCOUNT STATED THEORY (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department determined plaintiff attorney was entitled to her fees from the defendant client under an account stated theory and the defendant’s counterclaim for legal malpractice was properly dismissed:
The plaintiff represented the defendant from January 2009 through June 2011, and periodically sent invoices to the defendant for legal services rendered in accordance with a retainer agreement executed by the defendant. The defendant received the invoices and made payments with respect thereto through October 22, 2010. Thereafter, he made no further payments to the plaintiff. …
” An account stated is an agreement between parties, based upon their prior transactions, with respect to the correctness of the account items and the specific balance due'” … . “Although an account stated may be based on an express agreement between the parties as to the amount due, an agreement may be implied where a defendant retains bills without objecting to them within a reasonable period of time, or makes partial payment on the account” … . The “agreement” at the core of an account stated is independent of the underlying obligation between the parties … . Holtzman v Griffith, 2018 NY Slip Op 04540, Second Dept 6-20-18
ACCOUNT STATED (ATTORNEY ENTITLED TO THE REMAINDER OF HER FEE UNDER AN ACCOUNT STATED THEORY (SECOND DEPT))/ATTORNEYS (FEES, ACCOUNT STATED, ATTORNEY ENTITLED TO THE REMAINDER OF HER FEE UNDER AN ACCOUNT STATED THEORY (SECOND DEPT))