Garcia v. Kozlov, Seaton, Romanini & Brooks, P.C.

After a Kozlov associate, Elizabeth Sylvester (defendant), failed to name one of four other drivers as a defendant in Karen Garcia's (plaintiff) multi-vehicle-accident lawsuit, the omitted driver later won summary judgment on limitations grounds once a successor attorney tried to add him; that successor attorney advised Garcia to settle her remaining claims for $87,000 despite believing the case was actually worth $200,000 to $250,000, and Garcia did so before suing Sylvester for malpractice. At trial, Garcia presented expert testimony (rather than a formal suit within a suit) establishing she would have recovered more than $87,000 had the missing driver been properly named, and the jury valued her case at $225,000 and found Sylvester's negligence caused the loss; the appellate division reversed, holding a proper suit within a suit was required and that expert testimony wasn't an adequate substitute, and Garcia appealed.