Costa v. Allen

Although I agree that the dismissal of Costa’s Petition should be affirmed, I do not find it necessary to address the issue of first impression decided by the majority: namely, whether a plaintiff alleging attorney malpractice in connection with a post-conviction relief proceeding can proceed without alleging his actual innocence, and in the face of a subsisting criminal conviction. Instead, I believe Costa’s Petition suffers from defects more mundane, but nonetheless dispositive: first, the Petition fails to adequately allege that Costa would have obtained post-conviction relief but for…