Adkins v. Palermo, Dist. Court, ED Kentucky 2014 – Google Scholar. Probably the most common way to lose a legal malpractice case is to fail to identify an expert. The defendant moves for summary judgment and the court grants it. This opinion is worth reporting because it is well-written. In…
DEHART v. Lavit, Ky: Court of Appeals 2014 – Google Scholar. This case recognizes a duty of care to opposing counsel to put the opposing counsel’s name on a settlement check. Lavit sued DeHart because DeHart forgot to put his name on a settlement check. The settlement funds were spent…
LAW OFFICE OF OSCAR C. GONZALEZ, INC. v. Sloan, Tex: Court of Appeals, 4th Dist. 2014 – Google Scholar. This is a Texas case in which the lawyer, Oscar Gonzalez, was held liable when his co-counsel converted a settlement check. The attorney tried to defend on the ground that there…
Meyers v. LIVINGSTON, ADLER, PULDA, 87 A. 3d 534 – Conn: Supreme Court 2014 – Google Scholar. One recurring theme in lawsuits against lawyers is whether the plaintiff can sue for breach of contract and thereby obtain a longer statute of limitation. In Illinois, the statute of limitations for a…
IN RE JAHRLING, Bankr. Court, ND Illinois 2014 – Google Scholar. Jahrling is an Illinois lawyer who filed for bankruptcy protection. A creditor who had won a legal malpractice judgment against Jahrling sought to block the discharge of that obligation in the bankruptcy proceeding. “The Estate seeks to except from…
One of the recurring themes that I see is that a client has a problem with a lawyer, but the client waits years and years before addressing what to do about it. Inevitably, the statute of limitations (2 years from discovery of injury) runs while the client deals with other…
This case, William L. Gunlicks v. Mayer Brown LLP, 2014 IL App (1st) 130845-U, is far too important to be reported in an unpublished opinion. Sadly, the opinion is unpublished for reasons that are unfathomable. The compliant alleges that Mayer Brown breached the duty of care in representing the plaintiff…
Scott v. Burgin, DC: Court of Appeals 2014 – Google Scholar. The issue of privity frequently arises in legal malpractice litigation. A party lacks privity when the party did not have an attorney-client relationship with the lawyer. Recently, the privity rule has been relaxed by courts to allow lawsuits for…
I last discussed this problematic topic on June 30th. This unpublished decision, Godbold v. Karlin & Fleisher, LLC, 2014 IL App (1st) 131523-U, illustrates a malpractice trap contained in Illinois law. Usually, the rule in Illinois is that you must wait to file your malpractice action until you lose the…
Illinois has two statutes that establish time limits for when you can sue for legal malpractice. The statute of limitations gives the plaintiff two years from the time the negligence was discovered. However, the statute of repose bars any claim unless the negligent act occurred within six years of the…