| Olaiya v Golden |
| 2007 NY Slip Op 09377 [45 AD3d 823] |
| November 27, 2007 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| Kayode S. Olaiya, Appellant, v Michael Golden,Respondent. |
—[*1] Robinson & Cole LLP, New York, N.Y. (Katherine C. Glynn and Joseph L. Clasen ofcounsel), for respondent.
In an action to recover damages for legal malpractice, the plaintiff appeals from an order ofthe Supreme Court, Kings County (Schack, J.), dated July 31, 2006, which granted thedefendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The Supreme Court properly granted the defendant's motion for summary judgmentdismissing the complaint. To prevail in an action to recover damages for legal malpractice, aplaintiff must establish that the defendant attorney failed to exercise the ordinary reasonable skilland knowledge commonly possessed by a member of the legal profession and that the attorney'sbreach of that duty proximately caused the plaintiff to sustain actual and ascertainable damages(see Rudolf v Shayne, Dachs, Stanisci,Corker & Sauer, 8 NY3d 438, 442 [2007]; Avery v Sirlin, 26 AD3d 451 [2006]; Natale v Samel & Assoc.,308 AD2d 568, 569 [2003]). In order to make a prima facie showing on a motion forsummary judgment, the defendant attorney must present admissible evidence that the plaintiffcannot prove at least one of these elements (see Caires v Siben & Siben, 2 AD3d 383,384 [2003]; Ippolito v McCormack, Damiani, Lowe & Mellon, 265 AD2d 303 [1999]).Here, the defendant established his entitlement to judgment as a matter of law with evidence thathis conduct was not a proximate cause of the plaintiff's loss of employment with the New YorkCity Department of Juvenile Justice. In opposition, the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue offact. Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly granted the defendant's motion for summaryjudgment dismissing the complaint (see CPLR [*2]3212[b]). Crane, J.P., Fisher, Carni and McCarthy, JJ., concur. [See 12 Misc 3d 1189(A),2007 NY Slip Op 51503(U) (2007).]