“A Bankruptcy Court Order Permitting Creditors to Pursue Legal Malpractice Claims in State Court in the Name of a Debtor was an Impermissible Assignment and Violates Public Policy”, co-authored by Lipson Neilson attorneys Joseph Garin and Jessica Green, has been published in the March 2017 issue of the American Bar Journal’s eAdvisory; an eNewsletter from the association’s Standing Committee on Lawyers’ Professional Liability.
This article discusses Tower Homes, LLC v. William H. Heaton, where the Nevada Supreme Court concluded a bankruptcy court order permitting a group of creditors to pursue a legal malpractice claim in the debtor’s name constituted an impermissible assignment of the claim which, as a matter of public policy, is prohibited under Nevada law.
This decision runs contrary to recent decisions in other jurisdictions that seem to relax the standard privity requirements in legal malpractice claims and permit assignments of legal malpractice claims to non-clients in a business context. You can read the full article at: https://apps.americanbar.org/legalservices/lpl/premium/nosearch/downloads/eAdvisory201703_P4.html.
Joseph Garin, the Managing Partner of the Las Vegas office of Lipson, Neilson, Cole, Seltzer, Garin, P.C., is consulted nationally on the defense of professional liability claims, ethics, employment, insurance coverage disputes, director and officer claims, and risk management. Mr. Garin is former Chair and current member of the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility to the Nevada State Bar; and he is a member of the Professional Liability Advisory Board for the national Claims & Litigation Management Alliance (CLM). Comprised of industry leaders from across the United States, this Board guides the development of extensive professional liability resources.
Jessica Green is an Associate Attorney in the Las Vegas office of Lipson, Neilson, Cole, Seltzer, Garin, P.C. Ms. Green has defended many lawyers and law firms throughout the country during her career and is recognized as an emerging leader in Errors and Omissions (E&O), Employment, and Insurance Coverage law. She has been a featured speaker at Professional Liability industry conferences and 2017 is the fourth year in a row that Ms. Green has been selected as a Mountain States Super Lawyers’ Rising Star by Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of information for the legal industry.
Contact: Joseph Garin
Phone: 702-382-1500
Email: jgarin@lipsonneilson.com