Smith v. McLaughlin

Plaintiff sought to bring a legal malpractice claim against his criminal defense attorneys and their respective law firms. The circuit court dismissed the criminal malpractice claim on the grounds that the settlement and release of some defendants by way of a release agreement was a release of all defendants. Plaintiff subsequently filed a legal malpractice suit against the law firm that represented him in the criminal malpractice claim (Defendant), arguing that the firm breached its duty to him. A jury found Defendant liable to Plaintiff and awarded judgment in the amount of $5.75 million. The Supreme Court reversed the circuit court’s denial of Defendant’s second plea in bar, reversed the circuit court’s order affirming the jury award, vacated the jury award, and remanded the case, holding that the circuit court erred in refusing to sustain Defendant’s second plea in bar in which Defendant argued that Plaintiff was barred from recovering on his legal malpractice claim because, as a matter of law, Defendant did not breach its duty by failing to correctly anticipate a judicial ruling on an unsettled legal issue. View "Smith v. McLaughlin" on Justia Law