DECISION AND ORDER in the instant legal malpractice action brought by plaintiffs I.M.P. Plumbing & Heating Corp. (“I.M.P.”), 30-32 West 31 LLC (“30-32 West”), 405 8 LLC (“405 8″), and Andrew Impagliazzo (“Impagliazzo”) (collectively, “plaintiffs”) against defendants Munzer & Saunders, LLP (“M&S”), Craig Saunders (“Saunders”), and Marc A. Bernstein (“Bernstein”), M&S represented plaintiffs in several commercial cases in state court. Plaintiffs allege, inter alia, that due to M&S’ failure to properly defend and prosecute those actions, a default judgment was entered against plaintiffs in one action, another action was dismissed without opposition, and funds meant to be kept in an escrow account were improperly converted. As a result, plaintiffs seek damages totaling in excess of $30 million. Defendants Saunders and M&S (collectively, “defendants”) now move, pursuant to CPLR 3211, for an order dismissing the complaint as against them. This Court, by interim order dated January 3, 2019, pursuant to CPLR 3211(c), and upon notice to the parties, converted the motion to dismiss to a motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs oppose and cross-move, pursuant to CPLR 3212, for an order (1) denying defendants’ application; (2) granting plaintiffs summary judgment for the full sums demanded in the verified complaint; and (3) striking defendants’ answer and dismissing their affirmative defenses with prejudice. Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is granted in part and otherwise denied, and plaintiffs’ cross-motion is denied. FACTUAL BACKGROUND Impagliazzo is the president of I.M.P., 30-32 West, and 405 8. Impagliazzo and I.M.P. first retained M&S in or about February 2014. NYSCEF Doc. No. 61, 4. On April 1, 2014, Impagliazzo and I.M.P. entered into a formal retainer agreement with M&S to represent and defend them in two actions pending in Supreme Court, Suffolk County, both captioned A.M. Concrete, Inc. v. I.M.P. Plumbing & Heating Corp. et ano under Index Nos. 62017/2014 (“underlying action #1″) and 62124/2014 (“underlying action #2″). Id.; NYSCEF Doc. No. 63, at 1. In addition, M&S commenced two separate actions in Supreme Court, New York County on behalf of plaintiffs, captioned Andrew Impagliazzo et ano v. Heena Hotel LLC et al. under Index No. 155403/2014 (“underlying action #3″)1 and Andrew Impagliazzo et al. v. Shivbhakti LLC et ano under Index No. 652437/2014 (“underlying action #4″),2 on June 2, 2014 and August 8, 2014, respectively, asserting claims for tortious interference with a contract, fraud, and constructive trusts. NYSCEF Doc. No. 61,
33, 41. I. Underlying Action #1 — A.M. Concrete, Inc. v. I.M.P. Plumbing & Heating Corp. et ano, Index No. 62017/2014 On March 25, 2014, A.M. Concrete, Inc. (“A.M. Concrete”) commenced an action against I.M.P. for breach of contract and misuse of funds, claiming that it was hired as a subcontractor on a construction project to perform excavation and concrete work, and owed damages in the amount of $144,000. Id., 9; NYSCEF Doc. No. 64,
