Lawyer Sued for Defamation Sanctioned $14K for Impleading Opponent
A New York lawyer accused of defaming a Long Island law firm during his defense of its embezzling bookkeeper has been ordered to pay a $14,000 sanction for an unusual legal maneuver in the suit.
Thomas Liotti claims that the law firm Galasso, Langione & Botter and its lawyer sued him for defamation to mitigate liability in the bookkeeper’s theft, the New York Law Journal reports. In advancing that claim, he impleaded the Hempstead lawyer who filed the defamation suit against him as a third-party defendant.
Judge Daniel Palmieri of Nassau County ordered Liotti to pay the lawyer $14,000 in legal fees for the “frivolous” action, the story says. Liotti told the legal publication he would appeal.
The bookkeeper, Anthony Galasso, was sentenced in June to 2½ to 7½ years in prison for embezzling $4.3 million from the firm.
The defamation suit was filed over remarks Liotti reportedly made to Newsday. It quoted him as saying, “Anthony didn’t do anything that he was not instructed to do by his superiors. Whatever he did, he did with their full knowledge and consent. Dipping into company accounts was a common practice among attorneys there. Is the Galasso firm going to say they never went to a concert or a sporting event using this money? I think that’s something that should be addressed.”
