Plaintiff lost his malpractice claim against his lawyers because the court deemed his expert reports inadmissible. In the alternative, Plaintiff argued that his lawyers were negligent by failing to dispute the court’s finding that the operations of a company were illegal. The New Jersey Appellate Court rejected that argument on…
Chicago Legal Malpractice Lawyer Blog
Court Dismisses Malpractice Claim Arising Out of Failed Appeal
Plaintiff claimed that her lawyer was negligent in his handling of her appeal from a case in which plaintiff claimed that Well Fargo had discriminated against her. Plaintiff’s legal malpractice case was dismissed because plaintiff could not show how any lawyer could have won the appeal. The court put it…
Statute of Limitations Defeats Malpractice Claim
The statute of limitations often defeats legal malpractice claims that might otherwise have some merit. The statute of limitations is the best possible defense a lawyer can have. The statute of limitations differs from state to state. As a client, the important thing to remember is to get moving as…
Conclusory Allegations Doom Malpractice Claim
In Gopstein v. Bellinson Law, LLC, 2023 NY Slip Op 33476, the plaintiff alleged that he retained the law firm to handle a personal injury action, which later settled. Plaintiff claimed that the lawyers were negligent and that their negligence caused him to settle for a reduced amount. The law…
The Case Within A Case Requirement
Abercrombie Group, LLC v. Clark, Court of Appeals of Texas, Second District 2023. The company sued its law firm alleging that the lawyers failed to bring suit in a timely fashion. The lawsuit concerned a promissory note. The plaintiff would be required to prove that had the lawyer acted differently…
Overview of Legal Malpractice
I asked Chat GPT what “Legal Malpractice” is. It produced the following overview, which I then edited. Legal malpractice refers to a situation in which an attorney fails to perform his duties to a client in a competent and ethical manner, resulting in harm or financial loss to the client.…
Texas Revives A Legal Malpractice Claim Based on A Failure to Seek and Collect Damages
The Supreme Court of Texas has issued an opinion in USA Lending Group, Inc. v. Winstead, P.C., 669 S.W.3d 195 (2023). In this case the client sued its former law firm for failing to request damages in a default judgment motion. USA Lending hired the law firm to sue its…
Failure to Introduce Relevant Evidence Leads to Malpractice Award
In Paldino v. Johnson, 2023 Ohio 1947, Ohio Court of Appeals, 11th Appellate District 2023, the appellate court affirmed a legal malpractice verdict in favor of the plaintiff for a modest sum of money. Plaintiff hired a lawyer to assist him in dividing a parcel of property he owned with…
Plaintiff’s Complaint Dismissed For Failure to Allege Case-Within-A-Case
Buchanan v. Law Offices of Sheldon E. Green, P.C., 2023 NY Slip Op 1980 (New York Appellate Division, 2nd Department 2023), appears to be a slam dunk legal malpractice case but it was dismissed. Why? Because the plaintiff failed to plausibly allege that she would have won the underlying case.…
Six Month Statute of Limitations Bars Claims Against Estate Attorneys
The Illinois statute of limitations period governing legal malpractice cases is normally two years. The plaintiff has two years from the discovery of the injury to file suit. Illinois has another provision in the statute, which often protects lawyers involved in estate planning. 5/13-214.3(d) provides that: When the injury caused…