On June 30, 2022, Justice Chan of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Cassaforte Ltd. v. Pourtavoosi, 2022 NY Slip Op. 32063(U), dismissing a cause of action for breach of the rules of professional conduct, explaining:
The allegations in the Complaint are insufficient to state a claim for violation of the rule of professional conduct 1.13. Even accepting, for argument’s sake, that Pourtavoosi violated the directive of Rule 1.13 (b) for a lawyer to proceed as is reasonably necessary in the best interest of the organization or otherwise violated the rule, nonetheless there is no private right of action against an attorney or law firm for violations of the Code of Professional Responsibility or disciplinary rules. Plaintiffs argue that a
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).
violation of Rule 1.13 may impact the Attorney Defendants’ ultimate liability as related to other claims. To the extent plaintiffs’ argument of the relevance of Rule 1.13 and need for associated discovery is correct as to other claims, plaintiffs have nonetheless failed to state an independent cause of action for the purported violation.