Judgment obtained for Defendant attorney in an action against attorneys and others alleging a failure to properly draft insurance trusts and related documents that Plaintiffs alleged would result in increased estate tax and gift tax liability in the future. Defendants contended that estate and gift taxes are capable of calculation only at the time of Plaintiffs’ death and are subject to a host of variables that were unknown and unknowable. The Plaintiffs were alive at the time of the litigation. The court held that any claimed damages that Plaintiffs might suffer at the time of their future deaths were speculative and not actionable.
Sherman et al v. Shub, et al, Suffolk Superior Court, C.A. No.: 2007-2547-BLS1 (Decision 6/15/2011) (Lauriat, J.)