Legal Malpractice

Legal Malpractice for Lack of an Appeal

By (Andrew Lavoott Bluestone)

We report mostly on New York cases, but on ocassion, our net is more widespread.  Today, a story from Massachussets.  Its a big number legal malpractice case in which no appeal was filed.  From Law.Com and Sheri Qualters at The National Law

"Massachusetts' high court has ruled that Jackson Lewis and Winokur Serkey & Rosenberg of Plymouth, Mass. are liable for a $1 million-plus verdict against a telecommunications company in an employment discrimination case.

On Aug. 9 in Global NAPS Inc. v. Awiszus, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Global NAPS could recover damages from its former attorneys and their firms for missing the deadline for appealing a jury verdict in an the case. Martha Awiszus of Winokur Serkey and David Kerman of Jackson Lewis' Boston office were Global NAPS' lawyers on the case.

Global sued the lawyers and firms for negligence, breach of contract and loss of chance.

Sandy Stephens, a former housekeeper for Global NAPS, originally sued the company alleging a violation of the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act because the company fired her while she was on maternity leave.

State law requires eight weeks for maternity leave, but Stephens alleged that a company supervisor told her she would receive two additional weeks if she gave birth by Caesarean section.

Guidelines issued in April 2000 by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination on the state's maternity leave law called for employers to notify workers in writing if the company does not intend to offer full maternity leave rights for more than eight weeks.

The jury's July 2004 verdict against Global totaled more than $2.5 million, including punitive damages. "
 

Full post as published by New York Attorney Malpractice Blog on August 16, 2010 (boomark / email).