DiGennaro and Belous Win Pre-Answer Motion to Dismiss

Janice DiGennaro and Todd Belous were successful on a pre-answer motion to dismiss granted in favor of our client, an attorney, who was accused of the unauthorized and improper removal of attorney escrow funds. In 2006, our client represented plaintiff in the back-to-back sale of his residential property and the purchase of a larger replacement property.

Ten years later, plaintiff accused our client of misappropriating plaintiff’s escrow funds from the sale of his home without his authorization in connection with the purchase of the replacement property, which is now in foreclosure. It was established in support of the motion that all monies were properly and fully paid out of the escrow account with plaintiff’s knowledge and authorization.  It was further established that plaintiff’s claims were barred by the statute of limitations and that plaintiff could not resurrect his stale claims through the discovery rule applicable to fraud claims as plaintiff had constructive notice of his alleged claims in 2006.

After a heated and extensive oral argument, the Court granted our motion from the bench and dismissed the complaint, containing six causes of action, in its entirety.