The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently ruled that public policy did not prevent an insurance company from bringing a legal malpractice claim against its insured’s attorney as the subrogee of the insured. In Westport Insurance Corporation v. Howard Tate Sowell Wilson Leathers & Johnson, PLCC, No. M2023-01168-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App.…
In a legal malpractice case where one of plaintiffs’ own experts admitted that the law regarding a certain type of tax liability was unsettled at the time defendant attorneys advised plaintiffs, the jury verdict for defendant was upheld. In Estate of Hawk v. Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel P.C., No. E2022-01420-COA-R3-CV…
Plaintiff’s legal malpractice claim accrued when he received the order stating that some of his claims in a previous case were dismissed with prejudice. In Abdou v. Clark, No. M2023-01461-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. July 3, 2024), plaintiff hired defendants to represent him in a lawsuit against several individuals. During the…
The Tennessee Public Protection Act applies to legal malpractice claims in Tennessee in certain circumstances. In Cartwright v. Hendrix, No. W2022-01627-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. April 15, 2024), defendants represented plaintiff in multiple lawsuits related to the administration of a trust. Defendants worked for plaintiff on a contingency fee basis. After…
Proof related to potential damages alone are insufficient to sustain a legal malpractice claim in Tennessee. In Cox v. Vaughan, No. E2023-00930-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. April 10, 2024) (memorandum opinion), plaintiff filed a legal malpractice claim against defendant attorney. Plaintiff and defendant previously contracted for defendant to represent plaintiff in…
Where the substance of a complaint sounded in legal malpractice, and the complaint was filed more than one year after plaintiff should have been aware that he had been injured by the alleged negligence, judgment on the pleadings for defendants was affirmed. In Houbbadi v. Kennedy Law Firm, PLLC, No.…
Where a pro se plaintiff knew about defendants’ alleged legal malpractice more than one year before he filed suit, summary judgment based on the statute of limitations was affirmed. In Garrett v. Weiss, No. E2022-01373-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 25, 2023), plaintiff filed a legal malpractice claim against defendant attorneys…
Where a legal malpractice plaintiff provided no expert testimony to support his claims against defendant lawyer, summary judgment for the defendant was affirmed. In Parks v. Holland, No. E2021-01506-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 15, 2023), plaintiff filed a pro se legal malpractice claim against defendant attorney based on the attorney’s…
Where plaintiff could not show that he was harmed in any way by defendant attorney’s alleged legal malpractice, summary judgment on the malpractice claim was affirmed. In a memorandum opinion in Sutton v. The Westmoreland Law Firm, No. M2021-01209-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 21, 2023) (memorandum opinion), plaintiff consulted with…
Where plaintiff alleged that defendant attorneys ignored settlement offers and rejected offers on illogical bases in a previous class action case, dismissal of plaintiff’s legal malpractice claim was reversed. In Hawthorne v. Morgan & Morgan Nashville, PLLC, No. W2021-01011-COA-R3-CV, 2022 WL 4298184 (Tenn. Ct. App. Sept. 19, 2022), plaintiff…