Christian v. Paul B. Weitz & Assoc., P.C.

2025 NY Slip Op 51001(U)

• Court: Appellate Terms of the Supreme Court of New York
• Decided: June 23, 2025
• Docket: 570313/25
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

Christian v Paul B. Weitz & Assoc., P.C. (2025 NY Slip Op 51001(U)) [*1]

Christian v Paul B. Weitz & Assoc., P.C.

2025 NY Slip Op 51001(U)

Decided on June 23, 2025

Appellate Term, First Department

Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.

This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.

Decided on June 23, 2025

SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE TERM, FIRST DEPARTMENT
PRESENT: Brigantti, J.P., James, Perez, JJ.
570313/25

Elaina Christian, Plaintiff-Appellant,

against

Paul B. Weitz & Associates, P.C., Defendant-Respondent.

Plaintiff appeals from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Bronx County (Jessica I. Bourbon, J.), entered January 17, 2025, which granted defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint, pursuant to CPLR 3211 (a)(1) and (7).

Per Curiam.

Order (Jessica I. Bourbon, J.), entered January 17, 2025, affirmed, with $10 costs.

Civil Court properly dismissed plaintiff's action for legal malpractice based upon documentary evidence that conclusively established a defense to the action (see CPLR 3211 [a] [1]; Leon v Martinez, 84 NY2d 83 [1994]). Defendant submitted, among other things, email correspondence between the parties, the March 15, 2023 letter accompanying the check in settlement of plaintiff's underlying personal injury action and plaintiff's executed receipt of "client share" of the settlement of that underlying action. These documents flatly contradict the facts on which the claim of malpractice rests by showing that plaintiff expressly authorized defendant to settle her personal injury action for $35,000, inclusive of a one-third legal fee, with the reduced Medicare lien deducted from defendant's fees (see Laruccia v Forchelli, Curto, Schwartz, Mineo, Carlino & Cohn, 295 AD2d 321 [2002], lv denied 98 NY2d 753 [2002]).

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT.

I concur I concur I concur
Decision Date: June 23, 2025