Glass v. Suburban Restoration Co.12/30/1998
Argued November 16, 1998
On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Bergen County.
Defendants Suburban Restoration Co., Inc. and John Markovic (collectively "Suburban") appeal from the dismissal with prejudice, on the eve of a peremptory trial date, of their legal malpractice counterclaim against Helen Glass, their former attorney, for failure to comply with court orders to submit an expert's report. They also appeal from the jury verdict awarding attorney's fees to Glass in the amount of $56,165.28, which was reduced by the amount Suburban had already paid to $27,405.53. Their motions for a new trial or, in the alternative, remittitur, were denied.
On appeal, Suburban argues that the court abused its discretion in dismissing their counterclaim with prejudice; the court should have granted their request for an adjournment; and that their motion for a new trial or remittitur should have been granted. Among Suburban's arguments are various subsidiary issues, including whether the same Judge, who entered earlier orders requiring the submission of an expert's report within a fixed time period, should have ruled with respect to the motion to dismiss the counterclaim, and whether Glass, as attorney for Suburban, had any legal basis to file a summary judgment motion in one of the matters she handled which allegedly resulted in extensive legal fees.
From October 1992, Helen Glass represented Suburban and provided legal services for a period of about eight months on approximately fourteen matters in New Jersey and New York, until Suburban discharged Glass from all but one matter on June 3, 1993. Subsequent to June 3, 1993, Glass continued to represent Suburban on a matter referred to as "International Fidelity."
During the period Glass represented Suburban she submitted bills aggregating $56,165.28 for legal services, including $1,669.03 for disbursements. Suburban paid $28,759.75 in several payments, the last on April 29, 1993. Thereafter, on June 7, 1994, Glass filed a complaint for the unpaid balance against Suburban Restoration, as well as Markovic, as personal guarantor of the corporation's obligations.
Rather than fully detail the extensive procedural history of this case we need merely highlight the matters relevant to our decision. On November 23, 1994, Suburban filed its answer which essentially denied most of the allegations of the complaint and its counterclaim alleging, in vague and general terms, legal malpractice against Glass.
On or about January 4, 1995, Glass served Suburban with a demand for production of documents and a first set of interrogatories. The attorney defending Glass on the legal malpractice counterclaim served a set of interrogatories on Suburban on or about January 27, 1995. Thereafter, on April 21, 1995, Suburban served Glass with interrogatories, and on June 22, 1995, a notice to produce documents. Suburban also served a notice to take Glass's deposition on August 16, 1995.
Glass furnished answers to interrogatories and provided documents on October 2, 1996. Glass was deposed on November 21, 1996 and again on January 15, 1997. As for Suburban, an order dated October 16, 1995 directed Suburban to produce by a date certain more specific answers to interrogatories, documents as earlier requested, and an expert report or else be precluded from relying on any expert. The record is unclear if Suburban produced more specific answers to interrogatories or the requested documents.
On October 11, 1996, Glass moved for summary judgment dismissing the malpractice counterclaim. A November 22, 1996 order by Judge Troast granted Glass's summary judgment "without prej
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