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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.

 

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