Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Partner Greg Hearing and Senior Counsel William Dewey recently secured summary judgment on behalf of GRSM’s attorney clients in a complex case concerning a commercial property.
The case arose from a dispute between two members of a real estate holding company. One of the members initiated the lawsuit based on allegations that the other had breached the company’s operating agreement and caused lost profits. The lawsuit also included claims against the other member’s wife and attorneys, alleging that the member had fraudulently transferred property to his wife and that his attorneys had aided and abetted their client and conspired to defraud the company.
GRSM argued that the plaintiffs lacked evidence to support the theory that the property transfers were made with the intent to defraud creditors. They also argued that the court should grant judgment for the attorney defendants as a matter of law because attorneys cannot conspire with their clients when they act in the scope of their representation and do not actively participate in fraudulent conduct. The court agreed and granted summary judgment in favor of the attorney defendants.
The case marks another victory for GRSM’s Professional Liability Defense practice, which has seen a rise in claims brought by non-clients against attorneys and has extensive experience defending attorneys and other professionals facing litigation risk.