Opinion
2001-08487
Submitted June 7, 2002.
August 26, 2002.
In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for breach of a lease, Graubard Miller, the former attorney for the defendants Nanjim Leasing Corp., Edward Leshaw, and Richard Higer appeals, as limited by its brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Clemente, J.), dated September 7, 2001, as denied its motion to fix its retaining lien, and granted the cross motion of its former clients, the defendants Nanjim Leasing Corp., Edward Leshaw, and Richard Higer, to compel it to turn over their legal file to new counsel.
Graubard Miller, New York, N.Y. (Edward H. Pomeranz and Patrick E. Cox of counsel), nonparty-appellant pro se.
David H. Perlman, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Matthew Sakkas of counsel), for respondents.
Borah, Goldstein, Altschuler, Schwartz Nahins, P.C., New York, N.Y. (Jeffrey R. Metz of counsel), for plaintiff.
Before: ANITA R. FLORIO, J.P., CORNELIUS J. O'BRIEN, ROBERT W. SCHMIDT, BARRY A. COZIER, JJ.
ORDERED that the order is reversed insofar as appealed from, on the law, with costs payable by the respondents, the motion is granted, the cross motion is denied, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Kings County, for an expedited hearing in accordance herewith.
An attorney who is discharged without cause possesses a common-law retaining lien on the client's file in his or her possession, which secures the attorney's right to the reasonable value of the services performed (see Lai Ling Cheng v. Modansky Leasing Co., 73 N.Y.2d 454, 458; see also Manes v. Manes, 248 A.D.2d 515). "An attorney's retaining lien must be respected" (Andreiev v. Keller, 168 A.D.2d 528), and in the absence of exigent circumstances, the attorney should not be compelled to surrender the client's file until an expedited hearing has been held to ascertain the amount of the attorney's fee (see Markard v. Markard, 206 A.D.2d 512; Fields v. Casse, 182 A.D.2d 738; Andreiev v. Keller, supra). Since the defendants Nanjim Leasing Corp., Edward Leshaw, and Richard Higer failed to establish the existence of exigent circumstances which would require the immediate surrender of their legal file, the Supreme Court erred in directing the appellant to turn over the file before conducting a hearing to determine the appropriate compensation to which the appellant is entitled in quantum meruit (see Reich v. Reich, 272 A.D.2d 313; Manes v. Manes, supra; Fields v. Casse, supra; Andreiev v. Keller, supra).
We note that to the extent that the defendants have alleged that there was cause to relieve the appellant based upon the quality of the services performed, this issue may be considered at the hearing (see Andreiev v. Keller, supra).
FLORIO, J.P., O'BRIEN, SCHMIDT and COZIER, JJ., concur.