Legal Ethics
Malpractice Suit Tossed in Recovered Nazi Art Case
A federal judge has tossed a malpractice suit against a lawyer who represented the heirs of a German art collector whose property was seized by the Nazis.
The suit by nieces and nephews of Gustav Kirstein claimed they had to share their recovery with another claimant because of mistakes by their lawyer, David Rowland of New York. The lawyer determined that another claimant was entitled to half of the recovery and sought to represent her as well, the New York Law Journal reports.
Judge Donald Pogue, sitting by designation in New York’s Southern District, granted summary judgment to Rowland. The judge determined that German law gave the other claimant a right to share in the recovery.
