The opinion of the court was delivered by
FUENTES, P.J.A.D.
In this legal malpractice case, the Law Division granted defendant attorney Amato Galasso's summary judgment motion, dismissing plaintiffs Jennifer and Richard Winstock's (wife and husband) complaint as a matter of law.
We frame the issues raised by plaintiffs in this appeal in the form of the following questions: (1) can Richard Winstock, a former Roxbury police officer, sue defendant for incorrect legal advice that Winstock claims resulted in his conviction, by way of a plea agreement with the State, for third degree promotion of gambling in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:37-2a(2); and (2) can Jennifer Winstock, the legal owner and registered agent for the limited liability corporation that operated and promoted the gambling enterprise, sue defendant based on the same theory of liability, despite the State consenting to her admission into the Pretrial Intervention Program (PTI), N.J.S.A. 2C:43-12, as part of a global plea agreement involving all those indicted for these offenses, including her husband?
Relying on Alampi v. Russo, 345 N.J.Super. 360, 367, 785 A.2d 65 (App.Div. 2001), the trial judge granted defendant's summary judgment motion, holding that plaintiffs' "thesis for recovery undermine[d] the public policy expressed by the doctrine of judicial estoppel." The motion judge also dismissed plaintiffs' claim for emotional distress damages raised as part of this legal malpractice action, because plaintiffs had not presented expert testimony to support this form of relief. Gautam v. De Luca, 215 N.J.Super. 388, 399, 521 A.2d 1343 (App.Div.), certif. denied, 109 N.J. 39, 532 A.2d 1107 (1987).
Plaintiffs now argue on appeal that the trial judge erred in relying on Alampi to dismiss their complaint. Plaintiffs argue that, unlike the facts in Alampi, in which the plaintiff retained the defendant attorney after the plaintiff had already engaged in criminal conduct, plaintiffs here retained defendant to ensure that their business model was proper and lawful. Thus, according to plaintiffs, but for defendant's incorrect legal advice, they would not have engaged in the conduct that gave rise to the criminal charges. Plaintiffs also argue that the trial court should not have dismissed their claim for emotional distress damages pursuant to Gautam because, under these circumstances, an expert is not necessary.
Because the trial court dismissed plaintiffs' causes of action as a matter of law, our standard of review requires us to consider all factual allegations in the light most favorable to plaintiffs. The "essence of the inquiry" is "`whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.'" Brill v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 142 N.J. 520, 536, 666 A.2d 146 (1995) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2512, 91 L.Ed.2d 202, 214 (1986)); see also R. 4:46-2(c). In the process of making this determination, "`we are not required to accept, as competent
After carefully reviewing the record before us, and mindful of our standard of review, we reverse the order dismissing plaintiffs' legal malpractice action. The material factual issues disputed in this case preclude a strict application of the principles we endorsed in Alampi. Unlike in Alampi, a rational jury in this case could find that defendant's role as a legal advisor was a substantial factor that led plaintiffs to engage in criminal conduct. The trial court also misapplied Alampi by treating Richard Winstock's guilty plea as creating an impenetrable wall, shielding defendant from civil liability based on professional malpractice. In cases involving tort or contract claims, the doctrine of issue preclusion does not automatically prevent a plaintiff in a civil trial from contesting the admitted facts that formed the basis of his or her guilty plea. State, Dep't of Law and Pub. Safety v. Gonzalez, 142 N.J. 618, 629, 667 A.2d 684 (1995) (citing Eaton v. Eaton, 119 N.J. 628, 643, 575 A.2d 858 (1990)).
As to Jennifer Winstock, her case against defendant is unencumbered by the concerns associated with her husband's criminal conviction. Admission into PTI is not predicated upon an accused acknowledging his or her culpability to a particular corresponding criminal charge. Guideline IV, R. 3:28. Furthermore, once admitted into supervisory treatment, as was the case here with Jennifer Winstock, any "statement or disclosure" made by a participant in a PTI program is not admissible evidence against her "in any civil or criminal proceeding." N.J.S.A. 2C:43-13f (emphasis added).
We affirm, however, the motion judge's dismissal of plaintiffs' claim for emotional distress damages. We discern no legal basis to deviate from our holding in Gautam prohibiting the recovery of such damages in legal malpractice cases.
Richard Winstock began working as a police officer for the Township of Roxbury in 1993. He was promoted to the supervisory rank of Sergeant in 2001. In the fall of 2003, Roxbury Police Chief Mark Noll learned that Sergeant Winstock and fellow Roxbury police officer Thomas Juskus were "running poker tournaments at a firehouse at Port Morris," a section of the Township of Roxbury. Chief Noll testified before the grand jury that indicted plaintiffs
At his deposition in connection with his legal malpractice action, Richard Winstock testified that the "poker tournaments" at the firehouse and the Knights of Columbus were restricted at first to his friends and acquaintances. However, the tournaments quickly grew to involve "at [their] height" as many as one hundred players. The tournaments were held at the Knights of Columbus in Netcong when the number of players grew to this level; the firehouse in Roxbury was not large enough to accommodate this many people.
As Richard Winstock explained at his deposition, the tournaments were arranged to award the top ten "participants" a percentage "of the total money put in at the start of the tournament." Thus, assuming a particular tournament had one hundred players, the top ten "would get something... [a]nd the other 90 percent would get nothing." At first, the tournaments were organized by Richard Winstock, Juskus, and a friend of Winstock named Tom Valienti. The three of them "collectively" provided the cards and chips for the poker games and awarded the top ten winners shirts and hats in addition to their winnings.
According to Richard Winstock, the first time he met defendant was at a poker tournament that defendant "was running" in a VFW "east of Roxbury." He went to the tournament only to play cards and did not discuss his idea of starting his own club with defendant at that time. He raised the issue of a club with defendant months after the tournament, when he called defendant "[t]o ask his legal advice on the legality of the operation." According to Mr. Winstock, he told defendant on the phone that he, Juskus, and Valienti "were looking to open up an establishment where [they] would go and [they] wanted to charge an hourly rate to be in the establishment and if it would be okay if [they] played cards in the establishment." When defense counsel asked Winstock whether he described to defendant "the other recreation activities that [he] intended to be there at the time," Winstock answered: "No."
Mr. Winstock testified that, based on his training and experience as a police officer, he had some understanding about the legality of gambling activities codified in Title 2C before he called defendant to solicit his advice. Winstock summarized his understanding of this area of the law as follows:
Despite this definitive statement concerning the scope of defendant's role at this juncture of his deposition, a few pages later, Mr. Winstock testified that defendant's role went far beyond just providing legal advice:
By letter dated July 1, 2004, Sergeant Winstock wrote to Chief Noll seeking leave to work part-time to help his wife who was "starting a business" to be known as "Fifth Street Club LLC"
Sergeant Winstock indicated in the form used by the Roxbury Police Department that his "off-duty employment" would be terminated on December 31, 2004.
Chief Noll made clear in his testimony before the grand jury that Sergeant Winstock never disclosed to him that he had an ownership interest in the Fifth Street Club or that he had invested thousands of dollars of his own money to launch a business venture that was, in essence, a gambling enterprise. Chief Noll emphasized that he would have denied Winstock's request for off-duty employment if he had known any of these details. Finally, in response to the prosecutor's question, Chief Noll informed the grand jurors that, as a police officer, Sergeant Winstock had a duty to provide him truthful, complete, and accurate information.
On August 11, 2004, Sergeant Winstock and defendant appeared before the Dover Zoning Board of Adjustment to obtain a zoning approval to operate the Fifth Street Club.
By contrast, in his statement of material facts, defendant maintained that Richard Winstock's testimony before the Board was entirely of his own volition and was not influenced or directed by defendant. Specifically, in the course of presenting evidence before the Board, defendant asked Winstock opened-ended questions for the purpose of describing the club's activities to both the Board and members of the public in attendance. According to defendant, in response to these questions, Mr. Winstock stated that the club would be
We note from our own review of the record that when defendant asked Mr. Winstock to tell the Board "some of the reasons why members join the club," Mr. Winstock gave the following response:
Defendant's presentation also included the testimony of John Williams Hill, the owner of the property where the club would be located.
By oral vote of the members present, the Board approved plaintiffs' application at that same meeting. The Board adopted a memorializing resolution on September 8, 2004. Paragraph 7 of the approval resolution specifically described the Board's understanding of the nature of the club's activities:
According to Mr. Winstock, Chief Noll was "fully aware of [his] participation and involvement in the 5th Street Club LLC." At his deposition, Mr. Winstock testified at length about keeping Chief Noll "in the loop" concerning all of the details of the club, both the construction phase "and the general philosophy behind the club." According to Mr. Winstock:
Mr. Winstock also emphasized this point in his counter-statement of material facts submitted in opposition to defendant's summary judgment motion. He averred that, in addition to his own review of the gambling statutes, the "Chief, [his] Lieutenant, and [he] had numerous and virtually daily discussions regarding the legality of the 5th Street Club." (Emphasis added).
We acknowledge that this concern over the "legality of the club" stands in stark contrast to the innocuous activities Mr. Winstock described in his testimony before the Board of Adjustment. The Board's own findings reflected in paragraph 7 of the approval resolution indicate the Board's acceptance of Mr. Winstock's credibility on this issue. The question of which version is more plausible or believable, however, is not susceptible to summary disposition. See Brill, supra, 142 N.J. at 543, 666 A.2d 146.
There came a point, according to Mr. Winstock, that Chief Noll requested that defendant provide him (Winstock) "with a written memorandum confirming the legality of the club which could be presented to the prosecutor's office." At Mr. Winstock's request, defendant prepared a "Confidential Memorandum" dated November 23, 2004, addressed to the "Owners of 5th Street Club, LLC." In the interest of clarity, and given the singular importance of this memorandum to plaintiffs' cause of action, we recite the contents of this document at length:
The parties agree that, after receiving this legal memorandum from defendant, Mr. Winstock spoke to a "PBA attorney" who at the time was representing Officer Juskus, concerning the legality of the club. In a letter dated January 4, 2005, addressed to Officer Juskus, this attorney was "candidly" critical of both the substance and scope of analysis of defendant's memorandum. This attorney concluded the letter to Officer Juskus as follows:
In his deposition testimony and in his statement of material facts in opposition to defendant's motion for summary judgment, Mr. Winstock denied that he received any legal advice from this attorney concerning the legality of the club. Although he spoke to this lawyer concerning this topic, the only information Mr. Winstock received from him was a referral to an attorney associated with a large, well-known New Jersey firm, which the PBA attorney described as experienced in such matters.
Sometime in January 2005, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office began investigating the Fifth Street Club for alleged illegal gambling activities. Undercover agents from the prosecutor's office visited the club on several occasions and were able to record conversations with Richard Winstock in which he made a number of ostensibly incriminating statements about the dubious legal status of the club's operations. In a conversation covertly recorded on April 24, 2005, Richard Winstock boasted to an undercover investigator from the prosecutor's office that he had found a
The prosecutor's investigation also revealed that the club was operating in violation of certain explicit restrictions imposed by the Dover Zoning Board of Adjustment. For instance, the club was open on Monday nights to permit non-members to enter and participate in the activities offered, which consisted primarily of poker tournaments conducted and promoted with great frequency. Additionally, numerous activities described in defendant's legal opinion memorandum as offered by the club to its members were not actually available on the premises.
On April 29, 2005, at the end of his shift, Sergeant Winstock was arrested and suspended from duty as a Roxbury police officer. The day after his arrest, Sergeant Winstock was formally interrogated by investigators assigned to the Professional Standards Unit of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office. He told the investigators he was aware the club was operating "in a gray area." However, he continued: "[E]very attorney I've spoken to, uh, has said basically the same thing, that they don't see a violation, but it's a very gray area."
On August 30, 2005, Richard and Jennifer Winstock were indicted on multiple counts of perjury and illegal gambling, including maintaining a gambling resort.
With respect to Jennifer Winstock, the State consented to her admission into PTI. Richard Winstock pleaded guilty to fourth degree maintenance of a gambling resort for participating in the proceeds of gambling activities, contrary to N.J.S.A. 2C:37-4(a), and third degree promoting gambling, contrary to N.J.S.A. 2C:37-2(a)(2) and (b)(2). At the plea hearing, Richard Winstock's attorney asked him a series of questions to establish a factual
Although the court did not address Mr. Winstock directly on this issue, the assistant prosecutor assigned to the case made clear at the plea hearing that, although the State would not oppose a probationary sentence, the State would nevertheless argue at the time of sentencing for the court to impose a term of up to 364 days of incarceration in the Morris County Jail as a condition of probation. By pleading guilty, Mr. Winstock also forfeited his public office as a Roxbury police officer as a matter of law.
Before the court imposed sentence, Mr. Winstock moved to vacate his guilty plea. Mr. Winstock submitted a certification in support of his motion that alleged, inter alia, that: (1) he was coerced into pleading guilty by his criminal trial attorney; (2) his codefendant wife told him that unless he accepted the plea agreement, she would leave him and take their three children to North Carolina to live with her parents;
The Criminal Part conducted an evidentiary hearing to consider the motion. Mr. Winstock was the only witness to testify. For reasons not disclosed in the record before us, plea counsel was not called as a witness. The Criminal Part denied Mr. Winstock's motion to vacate his guilty plea.
Plaintiffs filed a legal malpractice complaint against defendant on April 30, 2007. After joinder of issue and engaging in extensive discovery that included interrogatories, depositions, and the exchange and production of numerous documents, defendant moved for summary judgment, relying on a statement of material facts that contained eighty-five numbered paragraphs. Plaintiffs denied many material allegations raised by defendant and provided additional allegations or contentions.
After hearing the arguments of counsel, the motion judge issued an oral opinion granting defendant's motion for summary judgment. Although the judge recounted at length the convoluted facts of this case, his basis for dismissing plaintiffs' case was entirely predicated on his understanding of our holding in Alampi, supra. It is thus essential that we recite the facts and discuss the legal principles that guided our decision in Alampi.
In Alampi, the plaintiff was a licensed public accountant who provided accounting services to two physicians who established a medical practice. 345 N.J.Super. at 362, 785 A.2d 65. Between 1991 and 1994, an employee of the medical practice informed the plaintiff of an apparent diversion of revenue generated by the family practice. Ibid. Specifically, checks payable to the medical practice were not being deposited in the business's account. Ibid. When the plaintiff brought these improprieties to the attention of one of the physicians, he was told to "ignore" the matter. Ibid. When additional allegations concerning missing checks from the practice's operating account resurfaced, both physicians failed to give the plaintiff any information about this situation. Ibid.
In July 1995, the two physicians told the plaintiff that "they were being investigated" by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Ibid. The attorneys representing the physicians advised the plaintiff to retain his own independent counsel. Ibid. In August 1995, the plaintiff retained the defendant, attorney Albert Russo. Ibid. The plaintiff and Russo met with the IRS. Ibid. Russo advised the plaintiff "not to answer any questions." Ibid.
Three months after this meeting with the IRS, Russo and the attorneys representing the two physicians asked to sign a joint defense agreement and affidavit stating the plaintiff "had made mistakes in preparing the taxes" for the two doctors and the medical practice. Ibid. The plaintiff refused to sign these documents. Ibid. A month later, Russo sent the plaintiff a letter "memorializing" his advice. Ibid. Russo told the plaintiff that the IRS was now including the plaintiff in the investigation "`for potential criminal referral.'" Id. at 363, 785 A.2d 65.
Russo subsequently advised the plaintiff "not to discuss the case with the IRS without a grant of immunity." Ibid. Russo also reminded the plaintiff that he had the option to cooperate with the IRS, but advised against it. Ibid. After Russo suggested that the plaintiff "seek the opinion of other counsel on how to proceed" if he
The plaintiff was thereafter "indicted for violations of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (conspiracy to defraud by preparing false and fraudulent tax returns); 26 U.S.C. § 7203 (failure to supply information); and 26 U.S.C. § 7206(2) (fraud and false statements)." Ibid. He pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor offense of failing to supply information with regard to an IRS investigation, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7203, and was sentenced to a twelve-month term of probation and ordered to pay a $2000 fine. Ibid. The two physicians were acquitted. Ibid.
We will recite the material facts of the plaintiff's factual basis which our colleagues relied on in reaching their legal conclusion:
Alampi sued Russo for legal malpractice, contending that Russo "neglected to keep him properly informed about the potential of a criminal investigation proceeding and failed to arrange for a meeting with the IRS in the fall of 1995, where the government could have been persuaded to either grant him transactional immunity or decline to prosecute him." Id. at 365, 785 A.2d 65. Russo denied that the government
The trial court in Alampi granted summary judgment to Russo, finding that "public policy precluded this action." Id. at 362, 785 A.2d 65. Our colleagues framed the issue on appeal as presenting "the novel question in this jurisdiction: whether an unimpeached guilty plea in a criminal proceeding bars recovery in a legal malpractice action." Id. at 368, 785 A.2d 65. After canvassing the opinions of the jurisdictions that had addressed similar questions, the panel in Alampi held that plaintiff was precluded from taking a position in the legal malpractice action that was inconsistent with the factual basis he gave to induce the criminal court to accept his guilty plea. Id. at 368-71, 785 A.2d 65. The panel viewed the plaintiff's malpractice action as akin to a collateral attack on his criminal conviction. Id. at 366-67, 785 A.2d 65.
The Alampi court also concluded that the plaintiff's "thesis for recovery undermine[d] the public policy expressed by the doctrine of judicial estoppel." Id. at 367, 785 A.2d 65. However, the court in Alampi declined to require complete exoneration of the criminal charges as an indispensable prerequisite to a viable legal malpractice action. Id. at 371, 785 A.2d 65.
We are satisfied that the analysis employed by our colleagues to the facts in Alampi is not applicable here. First, as stated above, Jennifer Winstock did not plead guilty to any crime. She was admitted into the PTI program, which provides that "supervisory treatment ... shall be available to a defendant irrespective of whether the defendant contests his [or her] guilt of the charge or charges against him [or her]." N.J.S.A. 2C:43-12g; see also Guideline IV, R. 3:28 ("Enrollment in PTI programs should be conditioned upon neither informal admission nor entry of a plea of guilty. Enrollment of defendants who maintain their innocence should be permitted unless the defendant's attitude would render pretrial intervention ineffective.").
Here, the prosecutor consented to Jennifer Winstock's admission into PTI. She was not required and did not provide any self-incriminating statement as a condition of her admittance into the PTI program. See State v. Mosner, 407 N.J.Super. 40, 56, 969 A.2d 487 (App.Div.2009). Despite these clear legal distinctions between Jennifer Winstock's status and those of her co-plaintiff husband, the motion judge found as follows:
The trial court's decision to apply a theory of estoppel against Jennifer Winstock based on her admission into PTI is untenable as a matter of law and undermines the expressed public policy embodied in the PTI program: to "[p]rovide a mechanism for permitting the least burdensome form of prosecution possible for defendants charged with `victimless' offenses." N.J.S.A. 2C:43-12a(3); see also N.J.S.A. 2C:43-13f.
We now address the case brought by Richard Winstock. As our extensive
By contrast, Richard Winstock's allocution established that: (1) he had "authoritative control" over the club; (2) the club "was an establishment that was set up for the purpose of having ... poker games, as well as other games"; (3) he supplied the club with "the chips and the cards and the location"; (4) he did this "for financial gain"; (5) "there was gambling activity on the premises"; (6) the club charged fees to become a member; (7) he received "at least a hundred dollars on a given day for... hourly fees"; and (8) "gambling games or poker games" were played in the club.
It is undisputed that all of this activity Richard Winstock admitted he engaged in occurred after he had retained defendant as his legal advisor. Accepting plaintiffs' version of events in the light most favorable to them, as required under Rule 4:46-2(c), defendant reviewed and approved plaintiffs' business model in his November 23, 2004 legal memorandum. Although defendant's legal opinion may not have absolved Richard Winstock of criminal responsibility for his actions, Mr. Winstock's admission of criminal culpability did not relieve defendant of his duty to provide plaintiffs with legally correct advice.
Even if Richard Winstock's statements before the criminal court were construed as an unequivocal admission that, at the time of his arrest, he was operating a "gambling resort" in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:37-2a(2), such an admission is not dispositive of defendant's potential civil liability to plaintiffs for his alleged incorrect legal advice. See State Farm Fire & Cas. v. Connolly, 371 N.J.Super. 119, 122, 852 A.2d 227 (App.Div.2004). In Connolly, the plaintiff filed a declaratory judgment action to determine whether it had a duty to defend and indemnify its insured under a home owner's policy. Ibid. The insured had originally been charged with second degree aggravated assault, contrary to N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b, which at the time exposed him to a presumptive term of imprisonment of seven years. Ibid. The insured decided to enter into a plea agreement with the State through which he pleaded guilty to third degree aggravated assault, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(7). Ibid. He was sentenced to a five year term of probation. Id. at 123, 852 A.2d 227.
At the plea hearing, the insured "admitted" that he was in the location where a fight ensued involving the victim. Ibid. In the course of soliciting a factual basis for the plea, the insured's criminal attorney asked him the following: "At that time, did you act in a reckless manner, causing — with extreme indifference to [the victim], causing him significant bodily injury?" The insured answered: "Yes." Ibid. In the declaratory judgment action, the insured testified at his deposition that he was innocent of the charge of assault and that he was not even at the location at the time the victim was assaulted. Ibid. When State Farm reminded him of his admissions at the plea hearing, the insured gave the following explanation:
The trial court granted State Farm's summary judgment motion, concluding that the insured "was estopped from taking a position contrary to that which he had taken at the plea hearing in the criminal matter." Ibid. We reversed. Id. at 124, 852 A.2d 227. We held that the insured's admissions at the criminal hearing were admissible to impeach his credibility but were not dispositive as to the legal viability of his claim for coverage. Ibid.
Relying on N.J.R.E. 803(c)(22), N.J.R.E. 803(a), N.J.R.E. 803(b), and N.J.R.E. 613, we emphasized that "[c]ontrary to the motion judge's determination, our Supreme Court has held that collateral estoppel and other issue preclusionary doctrines do not preclude a person in a civil proceeding from taking a position inconsistent with his guilty plea." Ibid. Writing for a unanimous Court in State Dep't of Law and Pub. Safety v. Gonzalez, supra, Justice Coleman stated:
Returning to the issues raised by Richard Winstock here, to maintain an action for legal malpractice, plaintiffs must present evidence that: (1) they had an attorney-client relationship with Galasso that created a duty of care on Galasso's part; (2) Galasso breached that duty by giving plaintiffs incorrect legal advice as to the legal propriety of their business model; and (3) the incorrect legal advice was a proximate cause of any economic damages plaintiffs sustained. See Conklin v. Hannoch Weisman, 145 N.J. 395, 416, 678 A.2d 1060 (1996) (citing Lovett v. Estate of Lovett, 250 N.J.Super. 79, 87, 593 A.2d 382 (Ch.Div.1991)). Ordinarily, proximate cause is a jury question. J.S. v. R.T.H., 155 N.J. 330, 351, 714 A.2d 924 (1998) (citing Martin v. Bengue, Inc., 25 N.J. 359, 136 A.2d 626 (1957)).
Richard Winstock's admissions at the plea hearing may be evidential in his civil claims of professional malpractice against
Finally, we affirm the trial court's dismissal of plaintiffs' claims for emotional distress damages substantially for the reasons we made clear in Gautam, supra:
There is nothing in the record before us that substantiates a finding of "egregious or extraordinary circumstances" warranting this form of relief.
The order of the Law Division granting defendant's motion for summary judgment and dismissing plaintiffs' legal malpractice action is reversed. The court's decision to dismiss plaintiffs' claims for emotional distress damages is affirmed. We remand the matter for such further proceedings as may be necessary and consistent with this opinion.
Reversed in part, affirmed in part, and remanded. We do not retain jurisdiction.
