Castro v. Thompson et al., Supreme Court, New York County, June 3, 2010

In a dramatic turn of events, Barry Jacobs and associate Shari Sckolnick obtained dismissal of a legal malpractice claims against the defendant law firm. An underlying divorce action had involved the appointment of a partner of the firm—not the firm itself—as a court-appointed receiver. Upon the defendant firm’s motion to dismiss, Abrams Gorelick argued that plaintiff had no cause of action against the firm because the partner was the only receiver appointed.

The motion also argued that the Complaint must be dismissed against the partner/receiver on procedural grounds. After a receiver has been discharged by the Court, a party must (1) apply to the Court for an order vacating the discharge order; and (2) must seek leave to sue the receiver before commencing a lawsuit against the receiver. As these steps had not been taken, plaintiff’s action was improper.

During oral argument of the motion, plaintiff’s counsel realized the merit of the defendants’ motion and voluntarily entered into an Order and Stipulation withdrawing and discontinuing all claims against Abrams Gorelick’s clients, with prejudice.