You are here: / / JUDICIARY LAW 487 CREATES A PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION AGAINST AN ATTORNEY...
,

JUDICIARY LAW 487 CREATES A PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION AGAINST AN ATTORNEY FOR DECEIT OR FRAUD ON THE COURT OR ANY PARTY TO A LAWSUIT; HERE THE PROOF OF DECEIT OR FRAUD WAS LACKING (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Halligan, determined Judiciary Law section 487 creates a private right of action seeking damages for deceit by an attorney, Here plaintiff alleged her attorney in a medical malpractice action defrauded the court in the calculation of attorney’s fees. The Court of Appeals sided with plaintiff in finding a private right of action under Judiciary Law 487, but found plaintiff’s evidence of deceit or fraud on the defendant-attorney’s part was lacking:

We conclude … that section 487 authorizes a plenary action for attorney deceit under these circumstances. The text of the statute allows recovery of treble damages “in a civil action” where “[a]n attorney . . . [i]s guilty of any deceit or collusion . . . with intent to deceive the court or any party.” The phrase “in a civil action” is most naturally read to include a plenary action. Notably, the provision does not differentiate between an action that might undermine or undo a final judgment and one that does not, or between allegations of fraud that are intrinsic to the underlying action, as opposed to extrinsic. Interpreting the statute to permit a plenary action where the remedy would not entail undermining a final judgment (for example, when the deceit harms a prevailing party), but deny one where a final judgment could be impaired, would require us to rewrite the statute. That we cannot do. * * *

Plaintiff has not identified a material issue of fact as to whether [defendant-attorney’s] representations that the fee calculations comport with the statutory schedule amounted to false statements. Urias v Daniel P. Buttafuoco & Assoc., PLLC, 2024 NY Slip Op 01497, CtApp 3-19-24

Practice Point: Judiciary Law 487 creates a private right of action against an attorney for fraud upon the court or any party to a lawsuit.

 

You might also like
Names of Retired Teachers Not Protected from Disclosure by Public Officers Law 89
Revised Retainer Agreement, Which Changed the Fee Arrangement from Hourly to a 40% Contingency, Was Not Unconscionable/the Continuing Representation Doctrine Will Not Extend the Statute of Limitations for an Action Seeking the Return of Gifts Made by a Client to Her Attorneys Where the Sole Basis for the “Continuing Representation” Is a Fee Dispute
THE POLICE OFFICER’S WITNESSING THE EXCHANGE OF AN UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT PROVIDED PROBABLE CAUSE FOR A DRUG TRANSACTION ARREST; BECAUSE THE RECORD EVIDENCE SUPPORTED THE DENIAL OF SUPPRESSION, THE MIXED QUESTION OF LAW AND FACT WAS BEYOND FURTHER REVIEW BY THE COURT OF APPEALS (CT APP).
8-Hour Break in 49 ½ Hour Interrogation Did Not Render Confession Voluntary
COURT’S FAILURE TO ORDER READBACK OF CROSS-EXAMINATION IN ADDITION TO DIRECT WAS NOT A MODE OF PROCEEDINGS ERROR, PRESERVATION REQUIRED.
Sentencing Court Need Not Inform Defendant of Possible Consequences of Violating Postrelease Supervision
EVIDENTIARY RULING BY A TRIAL JUDGE WAS NOT THE LAW OF THE CASE AND WAS PROPERLY RECONSIDERED PRIOR TO TRIAL BY A NEW TRIAL JUDGE, STATEMENT HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND OF A 911 CALL IDENTIFYING DEFENDANT AS THE SHOOTER SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ADMITTED AS AN EXCITED UTTERANCE, NO EVIDENCE THE DECLARANT SAW THE SHOOTING (CT APP).
Evidentiary Issues Not Preserved for Review

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

THE MAJORITY HELD SUPREME COURT PROPERLY ALLOWED PLAINTIFFS TO FILE AN AMENDED... THE COMPLAINT STATED CAUSES OF ACTION AGAINST NYC ALLEGING CONSTITUTIONAL AND...