Goldfine v. BARACK, FERRAZZANO, KIRSCHBAUM AND PERLMAN, Ill: Appellate Court, 1st Dist., 6th Div. 2013 – Google Scholar.

The Illinois Appellate Court, First District, Sixth Division, has affirmed a judgment entered in favor of the plaintiff and against a defendant law firm. The allegation of negligence was that the law firm failed to preserve the plaintiffs’ claims under the Illinois Securities laws against Shearson Lehman. In short, the alleged error was the failure to timely file a claim for rescission against Shearson Lehman.

In a legal malpractice case, the court must always begin with an analysis of the underlying transaction or the underlying lawsuit. Here, the plaintiffs had a valid claim under the Illinois Securities Laws against Shearson Lehman. Under the Illinois Securities Law, the purchaser has six months from the time he learns of the right of rescission. The law firm failed to serve the notice of rescission and the Illinois courts rejected the plaintiffs’ claims as time-barred.