Affidavit of Merit Received in Eccleston Law’s $25 Million Legal Malpractice Action

Posted on April 1st, 2021 at 9:36 AM
Affidavit of Merit Received in Eccleston Law’s $25 Million Legal Malpractice Action

When Christopher Armstrong and Randall Kiefner filed their complaint alleging a “textbook example of unethical practices by lawyers”, defendants Michael Taaffe and Shumaker Loop answered that the complaint was “frivolous”.

Not so fast. New Jersey is one state that requires an Affidavit of Merit as to the merit of the allegations of the complaint.  The statute is designed to weed out “frivolous” claims by requiring a plaintiff to obtain and file in any professional malpractice action an affidavit from an appropriately licensed professional attesting that the defendant’s actions deviated from an applicable standard of care.

“By definition, this means that the complaint is not frivolous”, said James Eccleston.  The complaint details the many ethical breaches of defendants, through their actions, inactions, negligent misrepresentations and omissions, in what was a botched employment transition from Charles Schwab to Morgan Stanley.  Given that defendants boast that plaintiffs received “the same kind of individual and industry appropriate advice” as defendants’ other clients, Eccleston Law welcomes hearing from other financial advisors who have suffered at the hands of Michael Taaffe and Shumaker Loop.

A copy of the complaint is available upon request.

Related Attorneys: James J. Eccleston

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, complaints, morgan stanley

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