Legal Malpractice

Statute of Repose ends Legal Malpractice Case

By (Andrew Lavoott Bluestone)

Legal Profession Blog reports this dismissed legal malpractice case.  Before reading, please see the last paragraph in which the court holds that there still is a remedy available.

"The North Carolina Court of Appeal today held that a claim of legal malpractice was barred by the statute of repose against a lawyer who had dismissed his client's accident claim and concealed the dismisal through a series of false representations."

"The court held:

`In the instant case, the facts show that on 21 October 1997, McLaurin voluntarily dismissed without prejudice plaintiff's claims arising from the 1992 accident. Rule 41(a) of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure requires that any new action after a voluntary dismissal be refiled within one year after the dismissal. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1A-1, Rule 41(a) (2007). Thus, the last opportunity for McLaurin to act on plaintiff's claim occurred on 21 October 1998. Plaintiff brought his professional malpractice action against McLaurin on 9 May 2006, nearly seven years after McLaurin's last act. Thus, plaintiff's professional negligence claim was barred by the statute of repose, and the trial court did not err in dismissing plaintiff's claim.
We note that the actions of McLaurin, as alleged in plaintiff's complaint, are particularly egregious. However, it is for the legislature, and not the courts, to establish statutes of limitations, statutes of repose, and any exceptions to those rules. It is not the role of the courts to create exceptions to the laws established by the legislature where the intent of the legislature is made manifestly clear on the face of the statute.

The court further held that a claim of fraudulent concealment was properly brought against the individual lawyer but not his law firm. '"
 

Full post as published by New York Attorney Malpractice Blog on September 04, 2008 (boomark / email).