PHILADELPHIA (Pennsylvania Record) — A Philadelphia law firm must pay more than $656,000 to a former client in a legal malpractice case, a federal judge ruled on July 19.
Judge Jan Ely DuBois of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled Joseph Vaccaro and the Erie Law Center "demonstrated a reckless indifference to the rights of others" while representing Alkesh Patel in an assault and battery case.
DuBois added punitive damages to the judgment following a hearing in February, in which the defendants did not appear.
The case stems from Vaccaro's representation of Patel in an assault and battery case. Patel initiated a lawsuit against another man over an altercation at a convention in Philadelphia and the defendant counter-sued him. After filing the original complaint, Vaccaro took almost no further action in the case until trial.
"Vacarro presented no meaningful or effective defense on behalf of plaintiff at the damages trial," DuBois wrote.
Patel lost and a federal court entered a $1.3 million judgment against him. With another law firm, Patel negotiated a reduced verdict, according to court documents.
In June 2017, Patel filed a legal malpractice and breach of contract against Vaccaro and Erie Law, who failed to respond to the complaint, despite being served almost a year earlier.