Summary
In Associated Factors v. O'Neill Detective Agency, 146 A.D.2d 728, 537 N.Y.S.2d 212 (1989), a factoring company sued an attorney for representing that certain accounts due to his client were collectible.
Summary of this case from In re DieringerOpinion
January 30, 1989
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Rubenfeld, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The plaintiff, a factoring corporation, purchased the accounts which are the subject of this action from the defendant detective agency. When the plaintiff was unable to collect the full amount due on each account, it commenced this action against the agency, the agency's principals and the agency's attorney, Joseph Meehan. The complaint included a separate cause of action against Meehan sounding in negligence and fraud. In particular, the plaintiff alleged that Meehan had authored an opinion letter which falsely and negligently evaluated the collectibility of the accounts. The plaintiff allegedly relied on the opinion letter, which it had received subsequent to the purchase of the accounts, in refraining from the commencement of collection litigation.
The cause of action sounding in negligence was properly dismissed due to the absence of privity between the plaintiff and Meehan. The general rule is that absent fraud, collusion, malicious acts or other special circumstances, an attorney is not liable to third parties, not in privity, for harm caused by professional negligence (see, e.g., Estate of Spivey v Pulley, 138 A.D.2d 563; Viscardi v Lerner, 125 A.D.2d 662; National Westminster Bank v Weksel, 124 A.D.2d 144, lv denied 70 N.Y.2d 604; Rossi v Boehner, 116 A.D.2d 636; cf., Credit Alliance Corp. v Andersen Co., 65 N.Y.2d 536, mot to amend remittitur granted 66 N.Y.2d 812).
The cause of action for fraud was properly dismissed since the plaintiff failed to present sufficient evidence to support its claim that Meehan knowingly made false statements concerning the accounts which resulted in injury to the plaintiff (see, e.g., County of Westchester v Becket Assocs., 102 A.D.2d 34, 50, affd 66 N.Y.2d 642). Lawrence, J.P., Eiber, Harwood and Balletta, JJ., concur.