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Biddle v. Maguire & Schneider12/31/2003
the client's attorney continued to lead her to believe that the case was ongoing. It was only because appellant chose to check the trial court's docket again on July 3, 2001, that she learned the court had dismissed her case the previous month.
. By actively concealing the existence of their misconduct through deception and avoidance, an attorney cannot toll the running of the statute of limitations. To hold differently would "potentially encourage an unscrupulous attorney to conceal his or her malpractice until that time when the statute of limitations has run its course." Omni-Food & Fashions at 387.
. Our review of the trial court's decision to award summary judgment to appellees shows that the court never addressed the issue of whether the attorney-client relationship terminated before or after the dismissal on June 7, 2001. As previously discussed, the case was not dismissed in April 2001 as indicated by the trial court. Moreover, there are facts in the record which suggest that appellant had no knowledge of any dismissal until July 3, 2001, which is obviously later than the actual date, June 7, 2001, on which the trial court dismissed the case. If appellant's submissions are believed, her complaint was timely filed on June 26, 2002. Accordingly, based on appellees' claimed responses that misled appellant as to the actual status of the case, we conclude that there is a genuine issue of material fact concerning the sole issue of when the statute of limitations began to run. Appellant's first assignment of error has merit.
. Given our disposition of appellant's first assignment of error, any analysis with respect to her second assignment of error would be moot. The judgment of the trial court is reversed, and the matter is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
DIANE V. GRENDELL and CYNTHIA WESTCOTT RICE, JJ., concur.
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