THE ESTATE OF FRANCIS P. KENNEDY VS. STUART A. ROSENBLATT, CPA (L-1921-16, ESSEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)

CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedNovember 14, 2018
DocketA-1368-16T4
StatusUnpublished

This text of THE ESTATE OF FRANCIS P. KENNEDY VS. STUART A. ROSENBLATT, CPA (L-1921-16, ESSEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (THE ESTATE OF FRANCIS P. KENNEDY VS. STUART A. ROSENBLATT, CPA (L-1921-16, ESSEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
THE ESTATE OF FRANCIS P. KENNEDY VS. STUART A. ROSENBLATT, CPA (L-1921-16, ESSEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), (N.J. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-1368-16T4

THE ESTATE OF FRANCIS P. KENNEDY, (FREDERICK KENNEDY AND GABRIEL A. YANDOLI, CO-EXECUTORS), THE FRANCIS P. KENNEDY IRREVOCABLE TRUST AGREEMENT (FREDERICK KENNEDY, TRUSTEE), THE FRANCIS P. KENNEDY IRREVOCABLE TRUST AGREEMENT II (FREDERICK KENNEDY, TRUSTEE), THE FRANCIS P. KENNEDY IRREVOCABLE TRUST AGREEMENT III (FREDERICK KENNEDY, TRUSTEE), THE FRANCIS P. KENNEDY QUALIFIED PERSONAL RESIDENCE INTEREST TRUST (FREDERICK KENNEDY, TRUSTEE), THE LOUIS KENNEDY 2002 IRREVOCABLE TRUST, F/B/O LOUIS KENNEDY (FREDERICK KENNEDY, TRUSTEE), THE PATRICIA KENNEDY 2002 IRREVOCABLE TRUST, F/B/O PATRICIA KENNEDY (FREDERICK KENNEDY, TRUSTEE), THE CHERYL KENNEDY 2002 IRREVOCABLE TRUST, F/B/O CHERYL KENNEDY (FREDERICK KENNEDY, TRUSTEE) AND THE DONALD KENNEDY 2002 IRREVOCABLE TRUST, F/B/O DONALD KENNEDY (FREDERICK KENNEDY, TRUSTEE),

Plaintiffs-Appellants, v.

STUART A. ROSENBLATT, CPA; WISS & COMPANY, LLP; ESTATE OF JOEL SHOOBE ESQ.; ROBERT D. BORTECK, ESQ.; BORTECK, SANDERS & TORZEWSKI, LLP; ROBERT S. FINK, ESQ., and KOSTELANETZ & FINK, LLP,

Defendants-Respondents.

Argued October 24, 2018 — Decided November 14, 2018

Before Judges Koblitz, Ostrer and Currier.

On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Essex County, Docket No. L-1921-16.

Lance J. Kalik argued the cause for appellant (Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP, attorneys; Lance J. Kalik, of counsel and on the brief; John M. Loalbo and Stephen J. Pagano, on the brief).

Matthew Toto argued the cause for respondents Robert D. Borteck and Borteck, Sanders & Torzewski, LLP (Traub Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry LLP, attorneys; Matthew Toto, on the brief).

Steven J. Tegrar argued the cause for respondents Kostelanetz & Fink, LLP and Robert S. Fink (Law Office of Steven J. Tegrar, attorneys; Steven J. Tegrar, on the brief).

Anthony J. Sylvester argued the cause for respondent Estate of Joel Shoobe (Sherman Wells Sylvester &

A-1368-16T4 2 Stamelman LLP, attorneys; Anthony J. Sylvester and Anthony C. Valenziano, on the brief).

John R. Gonzo argued the cause for respondents Wiss & Company, LLP and Stuart A. Rosenblatt (L'Abbate, Balkan, Colavita & Contini, LLP, attorneys; John R. Gonzo, of counsel and on the brief).

PER CURIAM

In this complicated litigation, we ultimately affirm the motion judge's

order dismissing the complaint with prejudice. It is necessary to review the

procedural history in some detail to explain our decision. This matter involves

plaintiffs, the co-executors of an estate and trustee of a trust, and four

defendants, the lawyers and accountants against whom plaintiffs brought a

professional malpractice action in 2013. The parties signed a consent order in

2014 dismissing the matter unless any of the parties re-filed any of the claims

between 91 and 360 days after the entry of the consent order. The order provided

that, prior to the expiration of the 360-day period, any party could apply for an

extension, stating that if no such extension is requested, the original matter

"shall" be dismissed with prejudice. The order also tolled the statute of

limitations.

Seven months after the expiration of the 360 day period, plaintiffs re-filed

the malpractice action. Defendants each filed a motion to dismiss, and defendant

A-1368-16T4 3 Estate of Joel Shoobe, Esq. moved to disqualify plaintiffs' counsel. The motion

judge granted the motion to disqualify plaintiffs' counsel, but denied defendants'

motions to dismiss, issuing an opinion that misquoted the language of the

consent order by substituting the word "may" for "shall." Defendants filed

individual motions for reconsideration, while plaintiffs filed for leave to appeal

the disqualification order. After the motion judge denied plaintiffs' motion for

a stay, plaintiffs filed an emergent application for a stay of the proceedings ,

which we granted when we granted leave to appeal the disqualification decision.

On the same day we stayed the proceedings, the motion judge issued an

amended order, reversing her earlier decision. The judge acknowledged the

misquotation, dismissing the matter with prejudice consistent with the plain

language of the consent order.

Plaintiffs seek a reversal of the dismissal order, alleging a lack of

jurisdiction in light of our stay order and denial of due process, arguing that

dismissal of the re-filed malpractice action was in error and would result in a

manifest injustice.

I. Detailed Case History

We must explain the prior history in some detail. In 2012, Cheryl, Louis,

Patricia and Candace Kennedy, beneficiaries of the estate of Francis P. Kennedy

A-1368-16T4 4 and certain trusts established by Francis P. Kennedy, brought claims against

Frederick Kennedy, as co-executor of the estate and trustee of the trusts, and

Gabriel Yandoli, as co-executor of the Estate, alleging breaches of fiduciary

duties and objecting to plaintiffs' accounting (the beneficiary action).

The beneficiary action alleged that the defendants, plaintiffs in the current

action, made improper loans from the trusts to the estate, and failed to obtain a

refund for the estate's overpayment of taxes. Plaintiffs assert in this action that

they entered into such loans on the advice of their attorneys, defendants Joel

Shoobe, Esq.,1 Robert D. Borteck, Esq. and Borteck, Sanders & Torzewski, LLP

(together with Mr. Borteck, the Borteck defendants), and their accountants,

Stuart A. Rosenblatt, CPA, and Wiss & Company LLP (together with Mr.

Rosenblatt, the Wiss defendants). Plaintiffs claim they also relied on Robert S.

Fink, Esq. and Kostelanetz & Fink, LLP (together with Mr. Fink, the Fink

defendants) in connection with the estate's tax liability.

In 2013, plaintiffs filed a malpractice lawsuit against defendants with

regard to the administration of the estate and trusts for (1) negligence in the

performance of professional services, (2) breach of the covenant of good faith

1 Mr. Shoobe died and is represented by his estate.

A-1368-16T4 5 and fair dealing, and (3) breach of contract. 2 The Fink defendants filed a motion

to dismiss the complaint as premature, because damages were not yet

ascertained.

Because plaintiffs could not establish damages pending the outcome of

underlying beneficiary and estate tax litigation action, which would largely

determine plaintiffs' damages in the malpractice action, the parties began

negotiating for a suspension of the malpractice action. In August 2014, the Fink

defendants circulated an email to all counsel regarding a proposed consent order,

seeking "more definitive language stating after 180 days the dismissal will

convert to a dismissal with prejudice."

Later the same day, the Borteck defendants circulated an email to all

counsel indicating:

My concern is my client's counterclaim for his fees. I do not want my client barred from pursuing his fees on any procedural grounds.

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THE ESTATE OF FRANCIS P. KENNEDY VS. STUART A. ROSENBLATT, CPA (L-1921-16, ESSEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/the-estate-of-francis-p-kennedy-vs-stuart-a-rosenblatt-cpa-l-1921-16-njsuperctappdiv-2018.