SYLLABUS

(This syllabus is not part of the opinion of the Court. It has been prepared by the Office of the Clerk for the convenience of the reader. It has been neither reviewed nor approved by the Supreme Court. Please note that, in the interests of brevity, portions of any opinion may not have been summarized).

Julia Gere v. Frank A. Louis, Esq., and John DeBartolo, Esq. (A-78-10) (066926)

Argued November 7, 2011 -- Decided March 6, 2012

WEFING, P.J.A.D. (temporarily assigned), writing for a unanimous Court.

In this appeal, the Court considers whether plaintiff’s legal malpractice claim is barred under Puder v. Buechel, 183 N.J. 428 (2005).

Defendant Frank A. Louis, Esq., represented plaintiff Julia Gere in connection with plaintiff’s divorce from Peter Ricker. Pursuant to the property settlement agreement, plaintiff had a six month window, which ended in October 2000, to decide how she wished to proceed with respect to the parties’ ancillary real estate investments. Plaintiff’s understanding was that she would retain a one-half interest in those assets unless she affirmatively advised Ricker within six months that she did not wish to do so. One of those assets was Navesink Partners, which owned both the real estate and business operations of a marina. Based on Louis’s interpretation of plaintiff’s wishes after a discussion with her friend, Louis sent a letter dated October 11, 2000, to Ricker’s attorney stating, “this will confirm that except for the Marina, Mrs. Ricker wishes to maintain one-half interest in all other properties.” Subsequently, a dispute arose in which Ricker maintained that plaintiff had waived any interest in Navesink Partners, and plaintiff contended that she did not waive her interest, that she wanted to continue her ownership interest in the marina’s real estate, and that she was entitled to fair value for her interest in the marina’s business operations. A post-judgment litigation was commenced.

Defendant John DeBartolo, Esq., succeeded Louis as plaintiff’s attorney. The parties agreed to a sixty-day discovery period, after which they filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The trial court denied the motions in August 2003 and ordered a plenary hearing, which was not scheduled until 2006. Shortly before the plenary hearing, Carl Soranno, Esq., succeeded DeBartolo as plaintiff’s attorney. Soranno learned that DeBartolo did not conduct discovery with respect to plaintiff’s interest in Navesink Partners. The trial court only permitted Soranno limited discovery. The eight-day plenary hearing concluded on October 12, 2006. In addition, the trial court equitably tolled the statute of limitations for initiating a malpractice claim against Louis until May 11, 2007. Prior to the trial court’s decision, on July 27, 2007, the parties achieved a settlement in which plaintiff agreed to receive a reduced interest to avoid the risk of the trial court finding that she was not entitled to anything. The agreement provided that as of January 1, 2007, plaintiff would have a one-half interest in Ricker’s ownership in the marina’s real estate and a forty percent interest in his ownership in the marina’s business operations. The agreement also preserved plaintiff’s right to pursue claims against her former attorneys. In response to Ricker’s attorney’s inquiry into whether plaintiff believed the agreement was fair and reasonable to her, she answered “Yes. I’m signing it. It’s the best I could do.”