Shannon v. Barrett

LIPPINCOTT, J.,

May liability be imposed upon an attorney and his client for wrongfully filing a lis pendens against property owned by husband and wife, when the sole cause of action was against the husband? The case is apparently one of first impression.

William F. Barrett, by his attorney Alan B. Portnoff (defendants herein), originally sued WilliamP. Shannon alone in assumpsit in Chester County (later transferred to Montgomery County) to enforce a written contract. Such action did not involve Mr. Shannon’s wife, Sara Lane Shannon, nor did it concern real estate in any way. While the action…