Court Opinion

ID: 9474926
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 05:12:39.062702+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:44:24.660677
License: Public Domain

LUMBARD, Circuit Judge,
concurring and dissenting:
I agree that Goldberg’s claim for damages due to his unwillingness to perform any more myelograms was properly rejected under New York law pertaining to damages for emotional distress. I believe, however, that the district court erred in holding that Goldberg’s damages relating to time spent away from his medical practice defending lawsuits were too remote from the alleged fraud as a matter of law.
The complaint alleges that Mallinckrodt knew of the dangers associated with its product, Dimeray, and that it failed to disclose this information to physicians. Instead, Mallinckrodt allegedly touted the safety of Dimeray at physicians’ conventions. The manufacturer of a product such as Dimeray owes a duty of great care in advising all those who use such a product regarding the dangers and risks involved. The physician must rely on what the manufacturer tells him.
If a physician is fraudulently induced to prescribe a test for a patient, and the patient becomes seriously ill, it is almost axiomatic that the physician will be involved in litigation with the patient. Of course, the patient charges the physician with negligence, or the physician is so charged when he is impleaded. Where patients believe *311that they have been negligently injured, malpractice actions against physicians are now as certain as death and taxes.
I would hold that Goldberg’s defense against his patients’ lawsuits and his legal expenses are a “direct result” of Mallinckrodt’s alleged fraud. Goldberg had no choice but to take such time from his practice as was necessary to defend himself adequately. Indeed, his insurance policy undoubtedly requires that he give reasonable assistance to counsel provided by his insurer in any litigation. The fact that Goldberg took time off from his practice to defend the lawsuits is thus a direct and foreseeable consequence of the alleged fraud. At any rate, there is enough of an issue on proximate cause to present a jury question. Consequently, summary judgment is not appropriate. See Zeller v. Bogue Electric Manufacturing Corf., 476 F.2d 795, 803 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 908, 94 S.Ct. 217, 38 L.Ed.2d 146 (1973).
I also believe that Goldberg’s lost time is recoverable under an exception to the general rule against awarding attorneys’ fees and other legal expenses. If a defendant’s wrongful act caused the plaintiff to become involved in litigation with a third party, the defendant may be liable for the plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees and legal expenses incurred in the earlier litigation. See, e.g., Central Trust Co., Rochester v. Goldman, 70 A.D.2d 767, 417 N.Y.S.2d 359 (4th Dept.), app. dismissed, 47 N.Y.2d 1008, 394 N.E.2d 290, 420 N.Y.S.2d 221 (1979).
As the majority points out, this exception applies only to plaintiff’s expenses incurred in litigation with third parties and not to expenses incurred in litigation with the defendant itself; however, this qualification does not bar Goldberg’s recovery. At least with respect to the direct action against him, it is clear that Goldberg’s legal expenses resulted proximately from defending a lawsuit brought by a stranger to the present fraud action, his patient. See Japcap Establishment Inc. v. Trust for Cultural Resources, App.Div., 495 N.Y.S.2d 669, 671 (1st Dept.1985) (discussing third-party requirement).
Recovery of legal expenses under the exception is not thwarted simply because Goldberg impleaded Mallinckrodt. Goldberg bears the “laboring oar” in the direct action, and I see no reason why his bringing an indemnity claim against Mallinckrodt in that action should preclude him from seeking his litigation expenses in a separate fraud action. I disagree with the majority’s holding that time spent by Goldberg to defend the lawsuits brought by his patients is not compensable under the exception as a legal expense. It is inevitable that a physician would have to take some time off from his practice in this type of situation. Thus, Goldberg should be able to recover damages for his lost time, just as he would with respect to any other necessary litigation expense.