Pennsylvania Attorney Hit with $4.25 Million Legal Malpractice Settlement

Allentown, PAA legal malpractice lawsuit against an attorney from Allentown, Pennsylvania, recently resulted in a $4.25 million settlement, the Morning Call reports.

According to the news provider, attorney Donald P. Russo was found responsible for $3 million in compensatory damages as well as $1.25 million in punitive damages stemming from his alleged failure to appear at a termination hearing in 2004 for a public school worker who had been fired.

The lawsuit claimed that Russo was hired by Rox-Ann Reifer to represent her in the disciplinary case with the Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 in the town of Easton. Russo reportedly did not show up for the termination hearing and advised Reifer not to either, according to the suit. Reifer was eventually fired from her position with the public school, according to the news source.

However, in a recent interview, Russo told the news source that he would not end up paying any of the money in the settlement because Reifer agreed to seek the damages from a third-party malpractice insurer for the attorney.

He said that the settlement "has the appearance of something bad, but in terms of real money value, I'll never pay a dime."

According to its Web site, the Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 is one of 29 intermediate units across the state of Pennsylvania.