By Simon Neville
February 21, 2011 / dailymail.co.uk
A New York couple are suing their lawyers for $5million, claiming they were not told about the serious medical condition of their adopted son.
Lynell and Victor Jeffrey say they would not have adopted their son Ellington in 2006 had they known about the ‘severe neurological deficits’ they discovered following a CAT scan shortly after becoming the legal parents, court documents claim.
Lawyers for the defendants believe the ‘frivolous’ lawsuit, filed at Queens Supreme Court in New York, will fail – having already been thrown out by judges in Indiana where the child, who is now 5-years-old, was born.
Scott Agulnick of Greenblatt and Agulnick attorneys, representing Alyssa Seinden - one of the adoption lawyers named in the lawsuit - told MailOnline: ‘I hate to say it, but it almost seems like they have Buyers’ Remorse.’
The couple first approached the New York-based law office of Aaron Britvan in 2003, looking to adopt.
The process, which can last several years, took a turn for the best in 2006 when Britvan – who is the second person named in the lawsuit – received word from a client in Indiana of a pregnant woman looking to put her baby up for adoption.
The details were passed to the Jeffreys, who then contacted the mother directly and agreed to the adoption.
According to court documents, Britvan advised the Jeffreys to get an Indiana-based law firm to represent them, which they did and completed the documentation in Indiana.
Lawsuit: New York-based adoption lawyer Aaron Britvan is being sued for $5million by the parents of the sick child
It was only three months after the papers were completed that the Jeffreys took their new son for a CAT scan at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center and discovered he had neurological problems.
The couple allege that Britvan and Seiden should have informed them of any medical problems – which is the law in New York, but not in Indiana – and tried to sue them in the Midwest state.
But the court threw the case out, saying that Britvan and Seiden cannot be sued there because the firm is based in New York and outside its jurisdiction.
Now the couple are trying to sue the pair in New York, filing court documents in Queens Supreme Court.
Agulnick, acting for Alyssa Seinden, said: ‘Alyssa has dedicated her career to helping people adopt and this is how she was repaid.’
He added that his client had very little involvement in the case, calling it ‘underhand’ and ‘an abomination’ that she was named in the lawsuit.
Lynell Jeffery was reported in the New York Post as saying: ‘Ellington is a wonderful little boy, but this has been hard.’
Britvan's lawyer, Caryn Lilling, added: ‘This case was thrown out in Indiana, and it will be thrown out here as well.’