Terrence McAvoy on Summary Judgment

Illinois Appellate Court Affirms Default Judgment Against Attorney After He Repeatedly Fabricated Expert Witness Disclosures "From...

Iavor Stoyanov v. Himont Law Group, Ltd., et al., 2024 IL App (1st) 221434-U (April 15, 2024) - Brief Summary - The First District Appellate Court in Illinois held that the trial court (Judge Patrick J. Sherlock) was correct...more

4/23/2024 / Attorney Malpractice , Breach of Duty , Disclosure , Expert Witness , IL Supreme Court , Negligence , Professional Liability , Rules of Professional Conduct , Summary Judgment

Lack of Proximate Cause Dooms Plaintiff's Appeal of Adverse Summary Judgment

Flanigan v. Herman., 2024 Wash. App. LEXIS 44 (Wash. Ct. App. Jan. 11, 2024) - Brief Summary - The Washington Court of Appeals held that when the facts are undisputed, proximate cause is an issue of law to be decided by the...more

2/5/2024 / Attorney Malpractice , Breach of Duty , Negligence , Proximate Cause , Summary Judgment

Massachusetts District Court Sides With Insurer Because of Insured’s Failure to Provide Timely Notice of the Claim

Brief Summary - The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts held that the insured failed to comply with the notice provisions of a claims-made policy. Whether the insurer had actual notice of the...more

10/5/2023 / Anti-Discrimination Policies , Breach of Contract , Indemnification , Insurance Industry , Malpractice Insurance , Summary Judgment

Illinois Appellate Court Affirms That Attorney Representing a Closely Held Business Does Not Owe a Duty to its Managing Member

An appellate court in Illinois declined to expand the scope of the third-party beneficiary theory espoused in Pelham v. Griesheimer, 92 Ill.2d 13 (1982) and affirmed summary judgment in favor of the law firm and its partners....more

3/2/2023 / Attorney Malpractice , Attorney-Client Privilege , Client Representation , Contract Terms , Rules of Professional Conduct , Summary Judgment , Third-Party Beneficiaries

Plaintiffs' Lack of Diligence Defeats Fraudulent Concealment Claim and Precludes Tolling of Statute of Repose

Brief Summary - Three brothers—Bruce, Brad, and Brian Brandolino (plaintiffs)—held remainder interests in a piece of real property (Property) which their father sold to a bank in 2005. In 2019, plaintiffs sued the...more

6/20/2022 / Attorney Malpractice , Conflicts of Interest , Fraudulent Concealment , Statute of Limitations , Statute of Repose , Summary Judgment

Summary Judgment Granted in Defendants' Favor Because There Was No Attorney-Client Relationship Between Plaintiffs And Defendants

Plaintiffs, Jet Leasing Support Services USA, Inc. (Jet Leasing) and Uwa S. Amadasu (collectively "plaintiffs") claimed that a law firm, Curcio Mirzaian Sirot LLC, and firm partner Aristotle G. Mirzaian (collectively...more

5/16/2022 / Attorney Malpractice , Duty of Care , Professional Liability , Summary Judgment

Third Circuit Affirms Plaintiff Must Establish He Would Have Prevailed in Underlying Case But For Attorneys' Alleged Negligence

Brief Summary - The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, applying Pennsylvania law, affirmed the summary judgment that the district court granted in defendants' favor on plaintiff's alleged legal...more

4/1/2022 / Attorney Malpractice , Discovery , Document Productions , Evidence , Genuine Issue of Material Fact , Negligence , Summary Judgment

Eleventh Circuit Finds Attorneys Owed No Duty to be Clairvoyant on Unsettled Law

On October 7, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of defendant law firm. The court held the attorneys owed no duty to advise the client to cease an activity...more

10/15/2021 / Attorney Malpractice , Duty of Care , Expert Testimony , Genuine Issue of Material Fact , Legal Advice , Negligence , Professional Liability , Question of Law , Summary Judgment

Expert Testimony Sufficient to Defeat Summary Judgment Motion in Settle and Sue Case

Webb v. Ellis, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 3527 (2020) - Brief Summary - A Texas appellate court reversed the trial court's grant of summary judgment in defendants' favor on plaintiffs' legal malpractice claim—which was based on...more

9/17/2020 / Appeals , Attorney Malpractice , Expert Testimony , Product Defects , Professional Negligence , Proximate Cause , Reversal , Settlement , Summary Judgment

Alabama Civil Appeals Court Holds Error in Judgment Rule Requires Expert Testimony to Establish Standard of Care

Schaeffer v. Thompson, Ala. Cov. App. LEXIS 25 (2020) - Brief Summary - The Alabama Civil Court of Appeals reversed a trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant on plaintiffs' legal malpractice claims,...more

5/12/2020 / Appeals , Attorney Malpractice , Error in Judgment Rule , Expert Testimony , Litigation Strategies , Reversal , Standard of Care , Summary Judgment

Judicial Error Doctrine Rejected as a Defense to Malpractice Claim Because Attorneys Failed to Appeal the Judgment in the...

American Inter-Fidelity Exchange v. Hope, et. al., (N.D. Illinois 17 C 7934) - Brief Summary - A federal district court in Illinois held that defendants, who were sued for malpractice after a default judgment was...more

9/19/2019 / Appeals , Attorney Malpractice , Declaratory Judgments , Summary Judgment

New Jersey Court Reaffirms Principle that a Plaintiff Must Establish "But For" Causation and Damages in a Malpractice Claim

Picciolo v. Rittley, 2019 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1116 - Brief Summary - The New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed summary judgment for defendants in a legal malpractice action where plaintiff failed to prove actual...more

5/28/2019 / Attorney Malpractice , But For Causation , Divorce , Negligence , Summary Judgment

Terrence McAvoy

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

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