A vicarious liability claim has been dismissed in a case involving husband-and-wife attorneys who represented themselves as law partners but did not share profits.

U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson granted summary judgment to Ramsey attorney Lydia Cotz in a legal malpractice suit filed against her husband, George Cotz.

A New Jersey statute recognizes partnership by representation, holding that a purported partner, even one who is not aware of being held out as a partner to the claimant, can be held liable if a person with the purported partner's consent makes a public representation of the partnership.