In dismissing the legal malpractice complaint upon the ground of res judicata,
Supreme Court relied on a prior decision rendered by Justice Klein-Heitler in
the Medical Malpractice Action which upheld the validity of the settlement and
general releases entered into between plaintiffs and the hospital in that
action. However, as demonstrated more fully below, the Court’s reliance on the
prior order to support its dismissal of the instant action under the doctrine of
res judicata, was improper.
The penultimate finding in Justice Klein-Heitler’s order in the Medial
Malpractice action was that there was no evidence of fraud on the part of
Columbia Presbyterian in negotiating and entering into the settlement.
Therefore, Justice Klein-Heitler’s findings on the issue of defendant’s
conduct vis-à-vis plaintiffs were "gratuitous" and do not bar
plaintiffs’ legal malpractice litigation. Indeed, in the decision, Justice
Klein-Heitler specifically and expressly left open the issue of plaintiff’s
recourse against defendant for his negligent and fraudulent conduct in
representing plaintiffs in the Medical Malpractice Action. In any event, Justice
Klein-Heitler’s findings vis-à-vis defendant’s fraud, duress and coercion
practiced upon plaintiffs, were incorrect, irrelevant, made in the absence of a
hearing, and insufficient to support dismissal of the legal malpractice
complaint.