Riordan and Torrence Win Dismissal in Legal Malpractice Action
Brian J. Riordan and Mitchel D. Torrence recently secured a significant win for their attorney-client in a legal malpractice action when a Cook County, Illinois judge granted Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, with prejudice, finding that Plaintiff’s lawsuit was barred by the applicable statute of limitations.
The lawsuit arose out of the defendant attorney’s representation of the plaintiff in an underlying divorce action. The Plaintiff alleged that the defendant attorney had failed to take appropriate action with respect to the Plaintiff’s retirement accounts and that the defendant attorney had misrepresented Plaintiff’s medical status to the court in the divorce action.
Defendants filed a motion to dismiss arguing that when Plaintiff entered into a settlement agreement in the divorce action, more than three years before filing the malpractice action, she possessed enough information to satisfy the discovery rule under Illinois law and her claims were barred under the two-year statute of limitations set forth in 735 ILCS 5/13-214.3. In an unfiled brief, the Plaintiff argued that she suffered from a legal disability which tolled the statute of limitations. The Court granted Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss with prejudice, finding that the discovery rule was inapplicable and there was insufficient evidence of a legal disability within the meaning of Illinois law to toll the statute of limitations. Plaintiff has filed a notice of appeal.
Brian J. Riordan
Mitchel D. Torrence