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Complaint Filed In Westchester County By Former Client Charges Garvey Mishandled Multiple Legal Matters
THE LEGAL BEAT
Another lawsuit accusing attorney Lawrence Garvey (the former chair of the Rockland County Republican Committee and staff attorney at Rockland Green) of negligence, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty was filed, this time, in Westchester County Supreme Court last month.
The suit, filed by Construction Directions Group (CDG) and its principal Elliott Porco, charges Garvey and his firm failed to properly represent its interests over a period of years dating back to 2018. The multi-count complaint alleges negligence, professional malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract.
The allegations stem from Garvey’s failure to properly manage a lawsuit filed against CDG by Eastern Concrete Materials, a lawsuit Garvey was retained to file against Porco’s business partners, a failed recovery under an insurance bond, and defense of a lawsuit filed by HERC Rentals.
The suit says that in a contract dispute Garvey failed to provide a court with exculpatory evidence, failed to file a third-party suit against a culpable party, and mishandled an appeal bond. Other claims include mishandling of an insurance bond, failure to defend several claims he had been retained to handle, and providing misinformation about litigation.
Plaintiffs allege they had executed written retainer agreements and paid their legal bills timely.
RCBJ reached out to Garvey for comment but he did not respond to an email.
Not related to this litigation, but in a similar vein, last summer Rockland County Legislator Walter “Will” Kennelly (District 11) filed suit in Rockland County Supreme Court against Garvey’s law firm alleging negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract in Garvey’s handling of Kennelly’s interest in the former Kennelly’s Grille House.
In a three-count complaint, Kennelly claimed Garvey breached his fiduciary duty of honesty and adherence to rules of professional responsibility. Kennelly is seeking, compensatory damages, punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, attorney’s fees and costs.
Garvey filed a third-party suit alleging that Kennelly’s former business associates, accountant and lawyer were responsible for Kennelly’s losses.
Last October, Lawrence Garvey lost his seat as Chairman of the Rockland County Republican Committee to United States Congressman Mike Lawler in a close race during the Committee’s reorganization meeting. Garvey held the position since Vincent Reda stepped down in 2014.
In November, Rockland Green unanimously passed a resolution to permanently appoint Garvey as an Assistant Attorney. He previously had a provisional appointment to Rockland Green as Deputy Counsel where he earned about $82,000 according to available public records.
Last September, Garvey filed a Notice of Claim against Clarkstown Town Supervisor George Hoehmann, Clarkstown Town Attorney Kevin Conway, and Clarkstown Director of Finance Colin Schmitt, charging town officials retaliated against him for his role in attempting to derail what Garvey called an “illegal donation” to pay off outstanding debts from George Hoehmann’s 2023 re-election campaign. Garvey sought $2 million in compensatory damages for defamation, defamation per se, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and violation of his civil rights under federal law, but later withdrew the claim.
Garvey also has an outstanding tax warrant against him filed by New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, as well as several tax warrants outstanding against his law firm.
