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Farrow v. Ogle8/19/1998
JEFFERSON COUNTY
HON. JOHN K. WILSON, JUDGE (Sitting by Interchange)
AFFIRMED AND REMANDED
In this legal malpractice suit, Jeannie Farrow appeals a summary judgment rendered against her in favor of Carl R. Ogle, Jr., on the ground that her claim was barred by the applicable statute of limitations. Ironically, the underlying suit which gave rise to the present litigation was one for personal injuries filed by Mr. Ogle on behalf of Mrs. Farrow and was also dismissed because it was barred by the statute of limitations.
Mrs. Farrow's single issue on appeal insists the Trial Court was in error in "ruling as a matter of law that there was no issue of fact to be decided."
The dates of events pertinent to the Disposition of this appeal we will now list chronologically:
August 13, 1994 The Plaintiff fell from a chair following an MRI and sustained injuries.
August 13, 1995 The statute of limitations expires for a medical malpractice action.
August 17, 1995 The medical malpractice complaint is filed.
September 15, 1995 The medical malpractice defendants file motions for summary judgment.
September 27, 1995 The Defendant mails the motions for summary judgment to the Plaintiff and advises of the statute of limitations problem.
October 4, 1995 The statute of limitations problem is discussed between the Plaintiff and the Defendant at an in-office meeting.
November 27, 1995 The Plaintiff signs an affidavit in an effort to defeat the motions for summary judgment.
December 15, 1995 The Trial Court grants the defendants summary judgment in the medical malpractice action.
December 20, 1995 The Defendant advises the Plaintiff that the medical malpractice action was dismissed.
January 3, 1996 The order granting summary judgment in the medical malpractice action is entered.
January 13, 1996 The Defendant writes the Plaintiff to advise of entry of the order and to advise of appeal deadlines.
December 17, 1996 The instant legal malpractice complaint is filed.
Before addressing the issue raised, we note that the complaint in the underlying suit was not timely filed because one of Mr. Ogle's employees either misread or mistranscribed the information contained in the medical records and reported that the injuries to Mrs. Farrow occurred on August 18, 1994, rather than August 13, 1994.
Under Tennessee case law, in legal malpractice cases, as in other tort cases, the discovery rule, which triggers the statute of limitations, obtains. The Court of Appeals case of Caledonia Leasing v. Armstrong, Allen, 865 S.W.2d 10 (Tenn.App.1992), specifies when a legal malpractice cause of action accrues, and in doing so uses the following language (at page 13):
A cause of action for legal malpractice accrues and the statute of limitations commences to run when (1) the attorney has committed negligence, (2) the client has been injured by that negligence, Ameraccount Club, Inc. v. Hill, 617 S.W.2d 876, 878-79 (Tenn.1981), and (3) the client discovers, or in the exercise of reasonable care and diligence, should have discovered, the existence of the facts constituting negligence by the attorney and the injury caused by the attorney's negligence. Security Bank & Trust v. Fabricating, Inc., 673 S.W.2d 860, 865 (Tenn.1983).
A recent opinion of this Court, Brown v. Davidson, an unreported case filed in Nashville on December 5, 1997, is in accord.
The critical question in this appeal is when Mrs. Farrow knew of Mr. Ogle's negligence and the injury sh
Page 1 2 Tennessee Personal Injury Attorneys
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