The New Jersey Superior Court, Law Division, in Bergen County, granted a motion for summary judgment in a legal malpractice case against a New Jersey attorney defended by Goldberg Segalla.
Goldberg Segalla’s client was the second lawyer of three representing homeowners in an action against their insurance company for breach of contract and consumer fraud claims related to a water loss in their home. The underlying action was removed from the trial calendar so the parties could pursue private mediation. When mediation was unsuccessful, the parties requested the case be returned to the active trial list. Shortly thereafter, Goldberg Segalla’s client successfully filed a motion to be relieved as counsel.
As the result of court error, the case was never returned to the active trial list. When the homeowners moved to have the case restored to the trial list, more than two years after Goldberg Segalla’s client terminated his representation of the homeowners, the court denied the motion relying on arguments raised by the homeowners’ insurer who was citing the wrong court rule and the wrong applicable standard for the motion. This resulted in the dismissal of the underlying first-party action.
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