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ESTATE OF SPENCER v. GAVIN

No. A-0424-06T5

946 A.2d 1051 (2008)

400 N.J. Super. 220

The ESTATE OF Kathryn E. SPENCER; The Estate of Anna E. Spencer; and The Estate of Madeline S. King, Plaintiffs-Appellants/Cross-Respondents v. Daniel J. GAVIN, Esq.; and The Estate of Daniel J. Gavin, Defendants/Cross-Respondents, and Roberta Gavin, a/k/a Roberta Desanctis a/k/a Roberta Bergstein, individually and as executrix of the Estate of Daniel J. Gavin; Edna Bergstein; Irving Bergstein; Alberta Foster, Esq.; Sandra Gonzalez; Mercy Rodriguez a/k/a Mercy Delgado; Steven Moriarty; Suzy Anderson, ISA, individually and t/a Heritage Antiques and Appraisal Services; and Western Surety Company, its successors or assigns as their interests may appear, Defendants, and Dean Averna, Esq.; and Averna & Gardner, Esqs., Defendants-Respondents/Cross-Appellants, and First State Bank, n/k/a Sovereign Bank, a banking institution of the State of New Jersey, its successors or assigns as their interests may appear, Defendant-Respondent.

Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.

Decided April 23, 2008.

Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Steven J. Fram, Haddonfield, argued the cause for appellants/cross-respondents (Archer & Greiner, and Erik Shanni,1 attorneys; Mr. Fram, on the brief).

Sean E. Regan, Red Bank, argued the cause for respondents/cross-appellants (Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla, attorneys; Louis D. Tambaro, on the brief; Mr. Regan, of counsel and on the brief).

Christopher Carey, Morristown, argued the cause for cross-respondents Daniel J. Gavin, Esq. and The Estate of Daniel J. Gavin (Graham Curtin, P.A., attorneys; Mr. Carey, of counsel; David M. Blackwell and William D. Tully, Jr., on the brief).

Thomas J. Hall, argued the cause for respondent First State Bank (The Law Firm of Hall and Hall, attorneys; Mr. Hall, on the brief).

Before Judges LINTNER, SABATINO and ALVAREZ.

The opinion of the court was delivered by SABATINO, J.A.D.

The professional liability issues in this case arise out of circumstances in which a lawyer, while acting in his capacity as an executor and administrator, stole $400,000 or more from his clients' three related estates. Within months after absconding with those funds and dissipating them, the lawyer-executor died of cancer.

The primary question before us is whether a fellow attorney who evidently did...

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