Judiciary Law 487 claims, along with all other claims were dismissed in this claim of extortion, fraud and deceit and defamation case. in Murphy v Kozlowska 2022 NY Slip Op 32947(U) September 2, 2022 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 150978/2022 Judge: Lisa S. Headley discussed the case allegations.

“On February 2, 2022, the plaintiff filed this action against defendants for alleged illegal acts committed by defendants, including conversion, trespass to chattel, defamation, libel, slander, extortion by attorneys, fraud and deceit, theft, coercion, extortion, blackmail, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and punitive damages. In the complaint, plaintiff alleges, inter alia, that defendant Gary Certain told plaintiff that if the case was not settled quick, “it will not look good for him” and “to lay out $750,000 if [plaintiff] didn’t want any problems.” Plaintiff alleges that such interaction is considered blackmail and extortion. Plaintiff
contends that this interaction caused emotional distress to plaintiff. Further, plaintiff alleges that defendant Kozlowska is in possession of electronic devices belonging to plaintiff that Kozlowska is using, along with her co-defendants, in order to blackmail and extort plaintiff. Plaintiff alleges that defendant Kozlowska has been saying “untrue things” about plaintiff to third parties, causing damage to plaintiffs reputation.”

“Defendants’ motion to dismiss must be granted in its entirety as plaintiff has failed to state a cause of action for conversion, trespass to chattel, defamation, libel, slander, extortion by attorneys, fraud and deceit, theft, coercion, extortion, blackmail, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and punitive damages as the complaint on its face is based on bare legal conclusions and insufficient factual evidence to fit within any cognizable legal theory.”

“Likewise, plaintiff failed to state a cause of action for deceit. “A violation of Judiciary Law § 487 may be established either by the defendant’s alleged deceit or by an alleged chronic, extreme pattern of legal delinquency by the defendant.” Duszynski v. Allstate Ins. Co., 107 A.D. 3d 1448, 1449 ( 4th Dep’t 2013). Plaintiff does not set forth any evidence to show how defendants’ conduct was deceitful, nor how plaintiff was misled by defendants’ conduct.

Lastly, plaintiff fails to state a cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and punitive damages. Plaintiff does not set forth evidence to show that defendants “by extreme and outrageous conduct intentionally or recklessly caused severe emotional distress to another. ” The Restatement (2nd) of Torts, §46. Plaintiff states he was scared by defendants alleged blackmail and had suffered physical and mental pain, but does not delineate any specific evidence of the severe emotional distress he encountered as a result of
defendants’ supposed conduct. Plaintiff merely asserts bare conclusions without any factual evidence to support his claims.”

Andrew Lavoott Bluestone

Andrew Lavoott Bluestone has been an attorney for 40 years, with a career that spans criminal prosecution, civil litigation and appellate litigation. Mr. Bluestone became an Assistant District Attorney in Kings County in 1978, entered private practice in 1984 and in 1989 opened…

Andrew Lavoott Bluestone has been an attorney for 40 years, with a career that spans criminal prosecution, civil litigation and appellate litigation. Mr. Bluestone became an Assistant District Attorney in Kings County in 1978, entered private practice in 1984 and in 1989 opened his private law office and took his first legal malpractice case.

Since 1989, Bluestone has become a leader in the New York Plaintiff’s Legal Malpractice bar, handling a wide array of plaintiff’s legal malpractice cases arising from catastrophic personal injury, contracts, patents, commercial litigation, securities, matrimonial and custody issues, medical malpractice, insurance, product liability, real estate, landlord-tenant, foreclosures and has defended attorneys in a limited number of legal malpractice cases.

Bluestone also took an academic role in field, publishing the New York Attorney Malpractice Report from 2002-2004.  He started the “New York Attorney Malpractice Blog” in 2004, where he has published more than 4500 entries.

Mr. Bluestone has written 38 scholarly peer-reviewed articles concerning legal malpractice, many in the Outside Counsel column of the New York Law Journal. He has appeared as an Expert witness in multiple legal malpractice litigations.

Mr. Bluestone is an adjunct professor of law at St. John’s University College of Law, teaching Legal Malpractice.  Mr. Bluestone has argued legal malpractice cases in the Second Circuit, in the New York State Court of Appeals, each of the four New York Appellate Divisions, in all four of  the U.S. District Courts of New York and in Supreme Courts all over the state.  He has also been admitted pro haec vice in the states of Connecticut, New Jersey and Florida and was formally admitted to the US District Court of Connecticut and to its Bankruptcy Court all for legal malpractice matters. He has been retained by U.S. Trustees in legal malpractice cases from Bankruptcy Courts, and has represented municipalities, insurance companies, hedge funds, communications companies and international manufacturing firms. Mr. Bluestone regularly lectures in CLEs on legal malpractice.

Based upon his professional experience Bluestone was named a Diplomate and was Board Certified by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys in 2008 in Legal Malpractice. He remains Board Certified.  He was admitted to The Best Lawyers in America from 2012-2019.  He has been featured in Who’s Who in Law since 1993.

In the last years, Mr. Bluestone has been featured for two particularly noteworthy legal malpractice cases.  The first was a settlement of an $11.9 million dollar default legal malpractice case of Yeo v. Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman which was reported in the NYLJ on August 15, 2016. Most recently, Mr. Bluestone obtained a rare plaintiff’s verdict in a legal malpractice case on behalf of the City of White Plains v. Joseph Maria, reported in the NYLJ on February 14, 2017. It was the sole legal malpractice jury verdict in the State of New York for 2017.

Bluestone has been at the forefront of the development of legal malpractice principles and has contributed case law decisions, writing and lecturing which have been recognized by his peers.  He is regularly mentioned in academic writing, and his past cases are often cited in current legal malpractice decisions. He is recognized for his ample writings on Judiciary Law § 487, a 850 year old statute deriving from England which relates to attorney deceit.