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Torts Keyed to Henderson
Nostrame v. Santiago
Citation:
213 N.J. 109 (2013)Facts
In October 2006, Natividad Santiago suffered an eye injury during cataract surgery. She retained plaintiff Frank Nostrame in January 2007 to pursue a medical malpractice claim, signing a contingent fee agreement. Nostrame obtained medical records, consulted with experts, and filed a complaint in May 2007. Shortly thereafter, Santiago moved to Florida to live with her daughter. On June 1, 2007, Santiago failed to appear for a scheduled meeting with Nostrame, and he received a letter from her discharging him and instructing him to transfer her file to Mazie Slater. When Nostrame attempted to contact Santiago, Mazie Slater directed him to cease all contact with her. Mazie Slater eventually settled Santiago’s case for $1.2 million, generating approximately $358,396 in attorney’s fees. Nostrame was awarded $11,623.75 in quantum meruit for his services. He then filed this lawsuit alleging that Mazie Slater had tortiously interfered with his attorney-client relationship by inducing Santiago to discharge him.
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