Pennsylvania Legal Malpractice Lawsuit Dismissed

Pittsburgh, PAA judge in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, recently dismissed a legal malpractice lawsuit filed against a prominent Pittsburgh law firm after beverage maker LeNature's Inc. suffered a financial collapse, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

The lawsuit was reportedly thrown out by Judge Stanton Wettick, who said that only clients are allowed to sue for legal malpractice under Pennsylvania law.

Three concerned board members at the beverage maker hired a partner with the law firm in order to determine whether or not CEO Gregory Podlucky was improperly siphoning money from the company, according to court records.

Podlucky, three former executives at the company and a business associate were reportedly indicted in 2009 and are currently awaiting a trial in what prosecutors have called a significant fraud case, the news provider said.

In the legal malpractice lawsuit, the partner at the law firm was accused of negligence, breach of contract and the negligent misrepresentation in an investigation that allegedly did not uncover the fraud committed by Podlucky.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Podlucky is accused of scamming investors and banks out of $806 million from 2000 to 2006.