On March 10, 2026, the First Department issued a decision in Gans v. Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl, LLC, 2026 NY Slip Op. 01305, holding that a legal malpractice claim failed because the alleged negligence did not cause the plaintiff’s loss, explaining:
The court correctly granted Robinson Brog’s motion to dismiss the legal malpractice action against them. To state a cause of action for legal malpractice, the complaint must set forth three elements: the negligence of the attorney; that the negligence was the proximate cause of the loss sustained; and proof of actual damages. Even assuming plaintiff satisfied the first element of negligence, he failed to demonstrate the second element of proximate cause. Plaintiff failed to show that but for Robinson Brog’s negligence, he would not have lost his interest in the 28th St property, which caused him even greater losses.
Plaintiff’s argument that the foreclosure of his interest in the 28th St property could have been prevented had Robinson Brog promptly contacted Preferred Member’s counsel, Isaac Neuberger, after notice of the auction or Neuberger’s June 30, 2021 email, is unavailing and purely speculative. Robinson Brog asserts that they did reach out to Neuberger before the auction to explain that it was adverse to the Preferred Member’s business interests because it would enable senior lenders Mack and Bluestone to foreclose on the property. Moreover, even if Robinson Brog contacted Neuberger, plaintiff’s admission that the Preferred Member had not been acting in good faith throughout the process and had a scheme to steal the 28th St property contradicts plaintiff’s allegations of malpractice. Further, it appears that the offer to purchase the 28th St property for $27 million would have been insufficient to make the Preferred Member whole, and thus it would have still been within its rights to sell. In short, plaintiff failed to demonstrate that but for Robinson Brog’s inaction or delayed action as discussed above, the foreclosure would not have occurred.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).