Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani attorneys John Palmeri and Margaret Boehmer secured dismissal of a lawsuit against their client, an attorney and her law firm.
The lawsuit arose from a tragic accident in which both parents of a young girl were killed. A custody dispute arose involving the grandparents and an aunt. Ultimately, the judge awarded custody to the aunt. The custody order did not provide for visitation by the maternal grandparents. The maternal grandparents sued their lawyer and her law firm.
Palmeri and Boehmer moved to dismiss the lawsuit on the basis that the judge was required to act in the best interest of the child and that the maternal grandparents’ remedy was in the domestic relations case, not in a malpractice action.
The judge agreed and dismissed the case, awarding attorneys’ fees in favor of the attorney and her law firm. The case is now on appeal.