Judge Who Refused Hearing on ‘Ridiculous’ Lawyer Dispute Is Overturned
A New Jersey appeals court has ruled a judge in Monmouth County must hold a hearing in a dispute between two former law firm partners, even if he thought the cost of litigation would dwarf the amount in dispute.
The trial-level judge, Alexander Lehrer had called the dispute “the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen” and questioned whether the costs of a hearing were justified, the New Jersey Law Journal reports. “Let’s spend $60,000 in legal fees for me to determine whether or not one lawyer owes another lawyer $24,000,” he said.
Lawyer Russell Goldman had contended former partner Martin Rubin had failed to comply with a law firm dissolution agreement that called for the payment of $177,000 in six installments, the story says. Rubin had deducted certain expenses from one of the payments and the amount owed was in dispute. Lehrer decided the case based on conflicting certifications rather than holding a hearing.
“When is this going to end, people?” Lehrer said in a March 2007 hearing with the lawyers. “This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. Two very good, very competent professionals, engaged in a divorce that never ends.”
Lehrer has since retired from the bench.
The appeals court said in its ruling last week (PDF) that it had “great respect for the judge’s belief that the litigation might be more costly than the amount in dispute. However, the court has an obligation to decide the dispute when one exists.”
