 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Perez v. Trahant12/28/2001
late courts have the power to reverse or amend judgments and do so when appropriate. Clearly, Mr. Trahant believed the appeal had merit or he would not have wasted his time or his own money in pursuing the litigation all the way through the state supreme court.
LSA-R.S. 9:5605 states that the "prescriptive and preemptive period shall be governed exclusively by this Section." Prescription does not begin to run until the victim either discovers or should have discovered the negligent act. At the conclusion of the trial, neither Mr. Perez nor Mr. Trahant had actual knowledge of any act of malpractice. Mr. Trahant's conduct in filing the appeal, failing to withdraw from the case and expending his own funds to prosecute the appeal proves that he himself had not discovered any malpractice at that time. Consequently, it was error to impute that knowledge to his client.
Under these circumstances, I find that Mr. Perez could not have discovered the malpractice until February 26, 1999, when the supreme court denied writs. Only then did prescription begin to run on this claim. Mr. Perez filed his malpractice claim against Mr. Trahan in September 1999, well within the one year prescriptive period.
For these reasons, I would reverse the trial court's judgment granting defendant's exception of prescription. Accordingly, I dissent.
GONZALES, J., concurring.
I believe the analysis of the opinion relative to the peremption periods for legal malpractice is absolutely correct. I concur only to point out my dissatisfaction with the statute. Under this legal scheme, a client is required to file suit against his own attorney at a time when that lawyer is still representing him. In these issues of claimed malpractice involving settlements, seldom is the client in the position to know when and if malpractice has occurred. This law really requires a client to be his own malpractice attorney in order to make the decision to retain an additional attorney while his case is on appeal. The legislature has said for all practical purposes it is not going to allow legal malpractice claims where the malpractice involves a settlement. I respectfully concur.
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Louisiana Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|