Legal Malpractice Claim Fails for Lack of Allegation of But-For Causation

On September 13, 2023, the Second Department issued a decision in 1934 Bedford, LLC v. Gutman Weiss, P.C., 2023 NY Slip Op. 04558, holding that a legal malpractice claim failed for lack of allegation of but-for causation, explaining:

Here, the Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in denying that branch of the plaintiffs’ motion which was pursuant to CPLR 3025(b) for leave to amend the complaint, as the proposed amendment was palpably insufficient or patently without merit. The proposed amendment failed to sufficiently allege that but for the defendants’ alleged negligence, the plaintiffs would not have incurred any damages.

(Internal quotations and citations omitted).

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