Court Upholds $21K Award Against Faxing Lawyer

A New York appeals court has upheld a $21,000 award against a lawyer who faxed unsolicited information about legal malpractice cases to another lawyer.

The court said the faxes sent by Andrew Lavoott Bluestone violated a federal law that bars unsolicited ads, the New York Law Journal reports. Scott Greenfield, Bluestone's lawyer, told the legal publication he would appeal the decision.

The faxes sent by Bluestone, a legal malpractice lawyer, had information on malpractice issues and trends, and contained his contact information.

The appeals court in a 3-2 ruling said Bluestone’s argument that the faxes were purely informational “defies common sense." The faxes indirectly proposed a commercial transaction, the majority said.