Professional Negligence Law Reporter

A federal district court held that a certificate of merit was required in a suit alleging negligent provision of tax services.

Alexander Flint sued Armanino LLP and Armanino Advisory LLP, alleging negligence and violation of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. The plaintiff’s claims arose out of the provision of tax services to Mazowian Holdings LLC and the business’s owners, including Flint. Flint moved for entry of the defendants’ defaults, arguing that the defendants were served with a summons and complaint but failed to file a responsive pleading within 21 days. The defense then filed on the docket a copy of a letter to Flint that stated no response to the complaint was due until Flint filed a certificate of merit. Flint moved to strike the letter and argued that the state’s certificate of merit requirement did not apply.

Denying the motion, the district court noted that a plaintiff bringing an action based on an allegation that a licensed professional deviated from an acceptable professional standard must file a certificate of merit either with the complaint or within 60 days after its filing. The court added that the requirement applies to professional liability claims against a licensed professional and to claims against an entity responsible for a licensed professional.

Here, the court said, the plaintiff’s negligence claim implicates professional accounting standards and is based on allegations that the defendants breached a duty of care, including the filing of accurate tax returns. Such allegations bring the plaintiff’s claims within the certificate of merit rule, the court held.

Citation: Flint v. Armanino LLP, 2025 WL 2831165 (E.D. Pa. Oct. 6, 2025).