New Hampshire governor signs civil unions bill
Posted: May 31st, 2007 by Gaslowitz Frankel LLCJURIST reports that New Hampshire’s governor, John Lynch, signed a civil unions bill allowing,
“same-sex couples to enter into civil unions with the ’same rights, responsibilities, and obligations as married couples’ beginning in January 2008.”
For the full story: New Hampshire governor signs civil unions bill
| Related News | Will and Estate Disputes |
Supreme Court grants certiorari in four cases to be heard next term
Posted: May 29th, 2007 by Gaslowitz Frankel LLCJURIST :: Supreme Court grants certiorari in four cases to be heard next term; one which will, “resolve a circuit split on whether parties may contractually agree to vacate an arbitration award under the Federal Arbitration Act.”
| Related News | Arbitration, Mediation and Arbitration |
Supreme Court limits gender pay discrimination lawsuits
Posted: May 29th, 2007 by Gaslowitz Frankel LLCJURIST :: the Supreme Court limits gender pay discrimination lawsuits when it ruled Tuesday, “that an employee cannot bring a lawsuit for pay discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for allegedly discriminatory actions that occurred outside the statutory limitations period even when a paycheck is received during the statutory limitations period.”
| Related News | Business Litigation, Restrictions on Employment |
Federal appeals court upholds fraud convictions of Adelphia execs
Posted: May 25th, 2007 by Gaslowitz Frankel LLCJURIST :: Federal appeals court upholds fraud convictions of Adelphia execs.
| Related News | Business Litigation, Fraud |
World Trade Center insurance settlement reached
Posted: May 24th, 2007 by Gaslowitz Frankel LLCJURIST :: World Trade Center insurance settlement reached.
| Related News | Business Litigation, Insurance Coverage Disputes |
✩ Young v. Williams - Beneficiary of Will May Sue Drafting Attorney for Malpractice
Posted: May 7th, 2007 by Gaslowitz Frankel LLCGaslowitz Frankel LLC recently won a ruling from the Court of Appeals that, for better or worse, clarified the law in Georgia on the subject of whether or not a beneficiary has standing to bring a claim against the attorney who drafted a will excluding the beneficiary from an intended gift. In that decision, issued on April 17, 2007, the Georgia Court of Appeals held that a beneficiary of a will may sue the drafting attorney for malpractice if he or she was intended to benefit from the will.
In Young v. Williams, 2007 WL 1121740, Docket No. A07A0030 (Ga. Ct. App. 2007), the attorney who drafted a will for James Williams neglected to include requested language leaving the marital residence to Betsy Williams, the surviving spouse. Mrs. Williams, represented by Gaslowitz Frankel LLC, sued the drafting attorney for malpractice. The drafting attorney admitted that he had made a terrible mistake that would otherwise constitute malpractice, but he argued that Mrs. Williams did not have standing to sue him for malpractice.
The trial court rejected this argument and entered summary judgment in favor of Mrs. Williams. On appeal by the drafting attorney, the Court of Appeals affirmed holding that a contract with a lawyer to draft a will, like any other contract under Georgia law, was subject to the third-party beneficiary rule. Thus, where a person hires a lawyer to draft a will and intends for the will to benefit a spouse (or other person), the spouse (or other person) has the right to sue the attorney for malpractice after the will is probated if it did not provide for what the decedent wanted.
| Related News | Civil Appeals, Firm News, Representative Cases, Will and Estate Disputes, Wrongful Interference |
Photograph by 
