Biaggi v. Local 300, Service Employees International Union

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York

Biaggi v. Local 300, Service Employees International Union

254 A.D.2d 236, 679 N.Y.S.2d 57, 1998 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 11419

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York·Decided October 29, 1998·Published

Opinion

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Stanley Green, J.), entered May 14, 1998, denying defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiffs complaint for failure to state a cause of action, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

The complaint of plaintiff law firm, alleging, inter.alia, that [237]*237the firm changed its position to its detriment by reason of its retainer agreements with the Union and Welfare Fund defendants, sufficiently states a claim for compensation according to the terms of those retainer agreements, notwithstanding the generally applicable rule that a client may discharge its attorney at will and, in so doing, relegate outgoing counsel to recover in quantum meruit for the value of its services (see, Greenberg v Remick & Co., 230 NY 70; Atkins & O’Brien v ISS Intl. Serv. Sys., 252 AD2d 446; Ehrlich v Rebco Ins. Exch., 198 AD2d 58). Concur — Rosenberger, J. P., Nardelli, Mazzarelli, Andrias and Saxe, JJ.

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Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Stanley Green, J.), entered May 14, 1998, denying defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiffs complaint for failure to state a cause of action, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

The complaint of plaintiff law firm, alleging, inter.alia, that [237]*237the firm changed its position to its detriment by reason of its retainer agreements with the Union and Welfare Fund defendants, sufficiently states a claim for compensation according to the terms of those retainer agreements, notwithstanding the generally applicable rule that a client may discharge its attorney at will and, in so doing, relegate outgoing counsel to recover in quantum meruit for the value of its services (see, Greenberg v Remick & Co., 230 NY 70; Atkins & O’Brien v ISS Intl. Serv. Sys., 252 AD2d 446; Ehrlich v Rebco Ins. Exch., 198 AD2d 58). Concur — Rosenberger, J. P., Nardelli, Mazzarelli, Andrias and Saxe, JJ.

Biaggi v. Local 300, Service Employees International Union, 254 A.D.2d 236, 679 N.Y.S.2d 57, 1998 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 11419 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1998).

Pincite

254 A.D.2d 236 (Biaggi v. Local 300, Service Employees International Union) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Opinion

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