Court grants summary judgment in New Jersey legal malpractice case

The New Jersey Superior Court, Law Division, in Bergen County, has granted a motion for summary judgment in a legal malpractice case involving a New Jersey attorney defended by Goldberg Segalla. The attorney was the second of three lawyers representing homeowners in a lawsuit against their insurance company over breach of contract and consumer fraud claims related to water damage.

The initial action was removed from the trial calendar to allow for private mediation. When mediation failed, both parties requested that the case be returned to the active trial list. Shortly after this request, Goldberg Segalla's client successfully filed a motion to withdraw as counsel.

Due to court error, the case was not returned to the active trial list. More than two years later, when the homeowners sought to have it restored, their motion was denied based on incorrect arguments presented by their insurer. This led to the dismissal of their original lawsuit.

Subsequently, the homeowners sued their former attorney. Daniel S. Strick from Goldberg Segalla's Management and Professional Liability practice group argued that his client was not at fault for the dismissal but rather it resulted from court errors and reliance on incorrect rules.

A detailed timeline with supporting documents eventually led to the underlying case being restored four years after its dismissal. Following this restoration, Dan Strick filed a motion for summary judgment on behalf of his client, arguing no legal malpractice had occurred and that there were no damages sustained due to alleged malpractice.

The judge agreed with this argument, noting that since the homeowners now had an opportunity to present their case against their insurer in court, they did not suffer any damages from alleged malpractice. It was acknowledged that multiple court errors were responsible for filing the legal malpractice action.

Dan Strick's efforts in restoring the underlying case and proving no legal malpractice had been committed were key factors leading to this successful outcome for his client.