Insurance & Reinsurance Partner Peter M. Perkowski Jr. obtained a victory in the New Jersey Appellate Division arising out of a complicated legal malpractice case for client Kevin M. Costello, Esq., and his firm Costello & Mains LLC over claims it provided negligent advice to a former client to settle an underlying business dispute. The plaintiff, Frank Angrisani, filed suit against Costello for failing to sue two law firms in connection with Angrisani’s allegedly wrongful termination as CEO of Uno, a money transfer business. The case against Costello arose after Angrisani unsuccessfully sued another attorney for legal malpractice in connection with failing to take discovery and other issues in the underlying Uno litigation.
The trial court had dismissed Angrisani’s claims against Costello in three separate orders, on grounds of statute of limitations, collateral estoppel, and proximate cause. Angrisani appealed. Peter argued the matter before the Appellate Division and on December 6, 2023, the Appellate Division affirmed the trial court’s decisions in all respects. Peter led the Riker appellate team with support from partner Lance J. Kalik and associate Venanzio E. Cortese.
The decision is covered in the December 6, 2023 Law360 article, “NJ Law Firm Beats Claims of Mishandling Malpractice Claim” (subscription required).
