Opinion ID: 791124
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Affirmation or Affidavit: Failure to Support Motion Properly

Text: 61 Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c), summary judgment shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). 62 In granting summary judgment to the Attorneys, the district court relied heavily on the affidavit of Alfredo Alvarado, the attorney who represented MBCC in the underlying State Court Action. On appeal, Lerner mischaracterizes Alvarado's affidavit as an affirmation and urges this Court to find Alvarado's statement insufficient to support the Attorneys' motion. 63 Lerner's argument is wholly without merit. In support of her claim, she cites Wester v. Sussman, 304 A.D.2d 656, 757 N.Y.S.2d 500 (2d Dep't 2003), and Lauer v. Rapp, 190 A.D.2d 778, 593 N.Y.S.2d 843 (2d Dep't 1993). These cases hold that a party attorney moving to dismiss a legal malpractice claim must submit an affidavit based on personal knowledge, not an affirmation. See Wester, 757 N.Y.S.2d at 501; Lauer, 593 N.Y.S.2d at 843. Initially, we observe that these New York state procedural rules do not apply here to a federal court sitting in diversity. See, e.g., Gasperini v. Ctr. for Humanities, Inc., 518 U.S. 415, 427, 116 S.Ct. 2211, 135 L.Ed.2d 659 (1996) (Under the Erie doctrine, federal courts sitting in diversity apply state substantive law and federal procedural law.). 64 In any event, these cases are inapposite because the record shows clearly that Alvarado submitted an affidavit based upon his personal knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the settlement of the State Court Action. Moreover, Alvarado was the attorney for MBCC in the underlying State Court Action and is not a party to this action. Thus, the Attorneys properly supported their motion for summary judgment.