Opinion
July 25, 1994
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Queens County (Dunkin, J.).
Ordered that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, the defendant's motion is denied, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Queens County, for a hearing in accordance herewith.
"It is well settled that an attorney who has been discharged by his client without cause may invoke a retaining lien on the client's papers and files in his [or her] possession. The attorney may generally not be compelled to surrender the files until an expedited hearing has been held to ascertain the amount of his [or her] fees" (Andreiev v. Keller, 168 A.D.2d 528; Corby v. Citibank, 143 A.D.2d 587; Mint Factors v. Cedar Tide Corp., 133 A.D.2d 222). "An attorney's retaining lien must be respected" (Andreiev v. Keller, supra, at 528; Artim v. Artim, 109 A.D.2d 811).
In this case, no exigent circumstances were established to support the court's order which directed the release of the defendant's files before a hearing was conducted (cf., Rosen v Rosen, 97 A.D.2d 837). Sullivan, J.P., Lawrence, Pizzuto and Joy, JJ., concur.