Around The Firm

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Steven G. Wraith and Marc Rosenberg won summary judgment in Johnson v. Horizons West Dev., Inc. They defended a negligence claim against a general contractor for a trip-and-fall on a clubhouse pool patio by a resident of the community. The court agreed with Steve and Marc that the contractor owed no legal duty, and there was no expert testimony to show breach of the standard of care.

Joel Wright and Mary DePaolo Haddad won the most recent round in Nelson v. Schnautz, a legal-malpractice action. Plaintiff alleged that the defendant attorney negligently failed to file a personal-injury claim against a decedent’s estate that resulted in plaintiff’s failure to obtain joint and several liability against the remaining defendants. Plaintiff was involved in an auto accident with the decedent, who died in the accident and had no assets or insurance. But the owners of the car the decedent was driving had $100,000 in liability insurance. The defendant lawyer sued the decedent’s estate, the car’s owner, and others, but failed to make a timely probate claim against the estate. But the insurer of the car defended the claim against the decedent anyway, and settled it for policy limits. The defense prevailed in the Court of Appeals because plaintiff had recovered as fully as possible against the estate, and joint and several liability remained among the other defendants. Plaintiff then petitioned the Supreme Court, which denied review.

Frank A. Cornelius won an arbitration defense verdict in Jones v. Rideout. The case arose out of a side-swipe car accident. The defense admitted liability but disputed causation as to plaintiff’s injuries. Plaintiff had a long history of back complaints, and other problems. At the time of the accident, plaintiff was being treated for unrelated injuries. After the accident, he sought treatment at several medical facilities for other medical issues. Not until four months after the subject accident did he seek medical treatment related to his back or mention the car accident. Plaintiff’s post-accident physicians were not given plaintiff's complete medical history and based all opinions solely on plaintiff’s own subjective complaints. The arbitrator agreed with Frank that plaintiff had not proven that this accident caused his claimed damages.

The Lee Smart Quarterly is a publication of the law offices of Lee Smart, P.S., Inc. for clients and others. It is intended as general information only and is not to be construed as legal advice. You should consult an attorney if you have any specific legal questions.

Editor: Jeffrey P. Downer	Eml: jpd@leesmart.com
Phone: 206.621.3482	Toll Free: 877.624.7990