Legal Malpractice

Holland & Knight and a Mullit-Millions Legal Malpractice Law Suit

By (Andrew Lavoott Bluestone)

We're not sure how to value this legal malpractice law suit reported in Law.Com in a story by Julia Kay.    It's not simply a $ 168 Million claim, it's a class action case too.

"A Sarasota, Fla., judge dismissed some counts but let stand malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty charges in a lawsuit filed against Holland & Knight by the receiver in a $168 million Ponzi scheme.

The rulings by Circuit Judge Rick DeFuria keep alive a suit filed last year by Burton Wiand against the law firm and one of its partners, Scott MacLeod. Wiand of Wiand Guerra King of Tampa was appointed receiver in January 2009 to try to recover funds from indicted Sarasota hedge fund manager Arthur Nadel.

Nadel, 77, pleaded guilty last month to 15 counts of operating a Ponzi scheme in Sarasota from 1999 to 2009. In a case that has been compared to Bernard Madoff's, Nadel's investors thought they were investing in a variety of hedge funds under Nadel's control or association. He is awaiting sentencing in a New York prison and faces up to 300 years. "

"Wiand hired the law firm Johnson Pope Bokor Ruppel & Burns of Tampa to sue Holland & Knight for allegedly preparing disclosure documents for investors that failed to mention Nadel was a disbarred New York attorney who had drained a client's escrow account. The suit also accuses Holland of conflicts of interest for representing Nadel and his investment funds simultaneously.

Wiand is seeking up to $168 million from Holland, equal to the amount of the Ponzi loss.

A separate class action suit brought by investors is pending in Tampa federal court with motions to dismiss filed by Holland & Knight. "

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Full post as published by New York Attorney Malpractice Blog on March 17, 2010 (boomark / email).