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This case, while not discussing legal malpractice, is worth considering. The plaintiff, an administrator of an estate, filed a pro se wrongful death lawsuit against medical providers. It was undisputed that the pro se complaint was filed within the applicable statute of limitations period. After the statute of limitations ran, plaintiff retained a lawyer who filed an amended complaint. The Nebraska courts, in harsh rulings, dismissed the amended complaint. The Nebraska Supreme Court upheld the dismissal.

Why was the case dismissed if it was timely filed? The courts found that the pro se complaint was a nullity because it was not filed by an attorney. The court acknowledged the result was a harsh one, but essentially said it was too bad.

In my opinion, this ruling is unduly formalistic and old-fashioned. It is also poorly reasoned given the harm to plaintiff and the given the fact that the defendants were put on notice during the limitations period. In other words, a technical violation defeated a potentially valid lawsuit.

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The case involves a fee dispute between a law firm and its former clients. The law firm took the underlying case on a contingent fee basis. The law firm inserted the following provision in its engagement letter, which requires arbitration of any fee disputes:

4. FEE ON TERMINATION. If Client terminates Firm’s employment before, conclusion of the case without good cause, Client shall pay Firm a fee and expenses based on the fair and reasonable value of the services performed by Firm before termination. If any disagreement arises about the termination fee, the client may choose two persons from a service profession, and the firm may choose one person. The firm will be bound by a majority decision of the three persons as to a fair fee. If the Firm terminates the representation, then it shall receive no fee or expenses.

The plaintiff law firm was terminated after it had received settlement offers from the other parties in the underlying lawsuit. (It is likely the lawyers felt that they had been unfairly terminated where they had been on the brink of achieving a settlement for their client).

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In divorce cases that settle, the judge will hold a prove-up hearing. During that hearing, the parties are asked questions about the Marital Settlement Agreement. If a litigant testifies that the settlement was fair and appropriate, can he later sue his lawyer for “coercing” him into settling the case? The answer in Michigan is “No.” The legal doctrine is judicial estoppel – which provides that a litigant cannot assert contradictory positions in two cases. In this case, the wife testified at the prove-up that she agreed to the terms of the settlement. Later, she sued her divorce lawyer for legal malpractice and alleged that she was “tricked” into settling. The court dismissed the case and the Appellate Court affirmed in an unpublished opinion. The court essentially reasoned that it was unfair for the plaintiff to obtain the benefits of a settlement (to which she consented) and then turn around and sue her lawyer.

The reasoning:

At the heart of plaintiff’s legal malpractice case is her assertion that she was tricked and/or coerced into agreeing to the settlement at the March 28, 2012 hearing at her divorce proceeding. But the doctrine of judicial estoppel renders her claims meritless. Judicial estoppel, described as the doctrine against the assertion of inconsistent positions, is a tool used by courts to impede those litigants that “play `fast and loose’ with the legal system.” Paschke v Retool Indus, 445 Mich 502, 509; 519 NW2d 441 (1994) (citation omitted). Under this doctrine, a party that has successfully and unequivocally asserted a position in a prior proceeding is estopped from asserting an inconsistent position in a subsequent proceeding. Wells Fargo Bank, NA v Null, 304 Mich App 508, 537; 847 NW2d 657 (2014); Detroit Int’l Bridge Co v Commodities Export Co, 279 Mich App 662, 672; 760 NW2d 565 (2008).

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This unpublished opinion resolves an appeal in a legal malpractice case. The plaintiff sued his lawyer despite the fact that the lawyer settled the underlying case (a medical malpractice case) for $1.5 million.

The Defendant attorney moved to dismiss the case on the ground that the plaintiff was judicially estopped from proceeding because he consented to the settlement of the underlying case. The alleged malpractice was the lawyer’s alleged coercion of an expert witness (a medical doctor) into providing an opinion on surgical issues (and not informed consent). The trial court dismissed the case on estoppel grounds reasoning that because plaintiff had approved the settlement, he could not sue for legal malpractice.

The Appellate Court reversed. It held that it was premature to dismiss the case without conducting discovery and without holding a hearing. The key part of the opinion is quoted below:

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Collateral estoppel is a doctrine that allows a court to bar relitigation of an issue that was already decided in a prior case. This case, Hexum v. Parker and Parker & Halliday, 2017 IL App (3d) 150514-U, is unpublished. The decision is one of many that reject a collateral estoppel defense to a legal malpractice action.

Hexum sued his lawyers for legal malpractice for allegedly giving him negligent advice in his divorce case; specifically as to the amount of maintenance he would owe.

In the underlying divorce case, Hexum entered into an agreement with his ex-wife to pay her $6250 per month and 35% of any bonus or stock option that he exercised.

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This opinion arises in an unusual procedural setting – plaintiff sought summary judgment on liability. Plaintiff claimed that an estate planning attorney erred in drafting a Will. The documents are quoted here:

On August 19, 2006, Elizabeth executed a revised Last Will and Testament presented to her by Defendants. (Id. at ¶¶ 14-16.) For the purposes of this motion, there are three relevant sections to the Last Will and Testament. Section One reads, in pertinent part:

I give, devise and bequeath all of my property of whatever nature, both real and personal, personal effects, household goods, automobiles, and all other items of goods and chattels to my children who survive me in equal shares of substantially equal value, per stirpes and not per capita.

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It is unfortunate that this case was not published, but it is still worth considering. The plaintiffs sued their lawyer who had drafted a Stock Purchase Agreement under which they sold their stock in a privately held company. When the company was sold, there was litigation pending. The parties negotiated an indemnification provision relating to the litigation. The court describes the facts in this brief summary:

In July 2011, respondent-attorney Joseph A. Turman prepared a stock purchase agreement for the sale of appellants James and Elizabeth Leach’s company, IDA of Moorhead Corporation, to SNAPS Holding Company. At the time of the sale, the Leaches were defending a wrongful-termination lawsuit brought by a former employee, Reed Danuser. The purchase agreement provided that SNAPS was aware of the litigation, and, subject to the indemnity provision in the purchase agreement, agreed to indemnify and pay the expenses and judgment associated with the lawsuit. The indemnification provision in the purchase agreement stated: “[SNAPS] shall hold and indemnify [the Leaches] harmless from the claims of Reed Danuser up to the sum of $100,000.00. In the event the amount necessary to resolve the issues with Reed Danuser exceed[s] $100,000.00 [the Leaches] shall be responsible for that portion.”

Unfortunately for the plaintiffs, the litigation resulted in a judgment exceeding $800,000. They then sued their attorney. The court dismissed the complaint holding that the plaintiffs clearly understood, and admitted they understood, that they were liable for any amount in excess of $100,000. Thus, they could not allege damages and had no lawsuit. Case dismissed. The dismissal was then affirmed by the Court of Appeals.

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The plaintiff filed a malpractice claim against her divorce lawyers. However, her claim did not succeed because she did not provide expert testimony. That testimony, from a family law lawyer, would be necessary to show negligence.

This is one of those truths that we cannot repeat enough times – an expert is needed to show how the lawyer’s performance fell short of the standard of care.

Source: Nolan v. Ernst, 2017 Ohio 1011 – Ohio: Court of Appeals, 12th Appellate Dist. 2017 – Google Scholar

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Lawyers have rights to hold the client’s file or other property as security for payment. Here the lawyer held on to a former divorce client’s file indefinitely. The client eventually sued the lawyer for legal malpractice – under the theory that the lawyer had no right to hold the file. Had the case been decided on that issue, it would have been an important case. However, the court dismissed the case on statute of limitations grounds, based on the three-year Arkansas statute of limitations.

Source: Haynes v. Wagoner, Dist. Court, ED Arkansas 2017 – Google Scholar

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http://www.iardc.org/HB_RB_Disp_Html.asp?id=12328

The ARDC has recently filed several elder abuse cases. This is one of those cases. According to the Review Board, the facts were as follows:

Respondent graduated from law school in 1989. He has a solo practice at Milwaukee and Devon in Chicago. He handles mostly residential real estate work and most of his clients are Polish. Respondent’s first language is Polish.

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