Williams v. Joynes, 278 Va. 57, 677 S.E.2d 261 (2009)

Brief Summary
In a legal malpractice action based on law firm’s untimely filing, the client’s failure to bring suit in an alternative forum with a longer statute of limitations was not a superseding cause.

Complete Summary
Client Leo Williams retained legal counsel to pursue a personal injury action in Virginia against two drivers, one from Virginia and one from Maryland. Williams’ counsel failed to timely file the Virginia action but advised him that a Maryland action could still be timely filed against the Maryland resident. After trying and failing to engage a Maryland attorney, Williams brought this legal malpractice action against his Virginia attorneys.

The trial court granted summary judgment to the attorneys, reasoning that Williams’ failure to bring a Maryland action broke the causal link between the attorneys’ negligence and Williams’ harm.

The Supreme Court of Virginia reversed on two grounds. First, Williams’ failure to file suit in Maryland was not a superseding cause, the court held, because an intervening act is not superseding if the initial tortfeasor’s negligence set the intervening act in motion. The court found that Williams’ failure to file was set in motion by the defendants’ negligence. Second, because the Virginia driver was not subject to suit in Maryland, Williams’ loss of his cause of action against the Virginia driver had nothing to do with his failure to file suit in Maryland.

Significance of Opinion
This opinion limits the availability of superseding cause arguments in attorney malpractice actions that arise out of untimely filings. Nevertheless, the availability of alternative forums in such situations may be relevant to other issues of proximate causation or to the issue of mitigation of damages.

This alert has been prepared by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. It is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship.

Register Today for the 8th Annual Law Firm General Counsel Forum: Risk Management in Troubled Times

Presented by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, The Hildebrandt Institute and WestLegalEdCenter

Date: December 2-3, 2009

Location

Thomson Reuters
Thomson Hall, 4th Floor
195 Broadway
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Who Should Attend?

• Law Firm General Counsel
• Chief Human Resources Directors
• Chief Compliance Officers
• Human Resources Professionals
• Risk Management Partners

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Topics Include

• Managing opportunities and risks in the current economy
• The evolving role of the general counsel
• Risks of disagreeing litigation services
• Implications of abandoning the hourly fee
• Legal issues surrounding laterals

Fee and Discounts

$1,495 for Law Firm Registration

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Receive a 10% discount off the registration fee for all participants if you send three or more people from the same organization to the Forum.

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REGISTER NOW for the Ninth Annual Legal Malpractice & Risk Management Conference and receive a 10% Early Bird Discount before December 1, 2009

Attend the industry's premier annual event focused on current and important developments in the law and litigation of malpractice claims, legal malpractice insurance and risk management strategies. Each conference panel examines recent case law and significant developments throughout the last year. One and one-half days will be devoted to legal malpractice (March 3-4), and one and one-half days will be devoted to risk management (March 4-5). The conference will be held in Chicago at The Westin Chicago River North Hotel.

Earn up to 15 hours of CLE credit, including up to 6.50 ethics credit!

Conference Topics

Legal Malpractice Sessions (March 3-4)

• Standing to Sue, Privity and Duty of Disclosure
• Litigation/Litigation Attorney
• What's Your Little Secret? They Want to Know
• Judgmental Immunity
• Insurance Coverage Update: The Year in Review – Prior Knowledge Redux and the Definition of Professional Services
• 2009 Updates and Statutory Causes of Action
• Stump the Panel

Legal Malpractice/Risk Management Cross-Over Sessions (March 4)

• The Insurance Marketplace and Considerations
• Who is the Client and Standing to Sue – Successor Entities, Affiliates and Subsidiaries
• Advance Conflict Waivers, Screening and How to Do It

Risk Management Sessions (March 4-5)

• The General Counsel Forum
• Suits for Fees/Mandatory Fee Arbitration
• Risk Management Considerations in Restructuring and Winding-Up Law Firms
• Managing Client and Law Firm Data, and What Gives When Client and Firm Policies Conflict?
• On the Horizon – The Slow Motion Revolution

Registration Fees

$1,300 for the Entire Conference - March 3-5
$925 for the Legal Malpractice Sessions Only - March 3-4
$925 for the Risk Management Sessions Only - March 4-5

Discounts (maximum 15% discount per registration)

Returning registrants receive 5% off the conference price
Multiple registrants receive 15% off when two or more colleagues from the same company register for the conference
Early birds receive 10% until December 1, 2009

For more information, please visit www.LMRM.com or click here to Register Now!

To speak with the Conference Planner, Katherine McCormack, please call 312-704-3329.