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Panell v. Henslee12/30/1999
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS
On Application for Rehearing
The opinion of August 6, 1999, is withdrawn, and the following opinion is substituted therefor.
David Panell filed this legal-malpractice action under the Alabama Legal Services Liability Act ("ALSLA"), Ala. Code 1975, § 6-5-571 through § 6-5-581, against Kent Henslee, an attorney who had represented Panell in a lawsuit arising out of a dispute concerning the operation of a business. Panell alleges that Henslee acted negligently in the course of the lawsuit by agreeing to a settlement without Panell's consent and by failing initially to file a claim and later to file a counterclaim on Panell's behalf. Henslee moved for a summary judgment, arguing that Panell's claims were barred by the two-year statute of limitations in the ALSLA, § 6-5-574. The trial court granted Henslee's motion, on the ground that Panell's claims were barred by that statute. The Court of Civil Appeals, on July 25, 1997, affirmed Henslee's summary judgment, without an opinion. Panell v. Henslee, 723 So. 2d 117 (Ala. Civ. App. 1997) (table). This Court granted Panell's petition for the writ of certiorari to review the narrow issue of when Panell's legal-malpractice cause of action accrued and when the statute-of-limitations period provided by the ALSLA began to run. We agree that Panell's legal-malpractice action was barred by the statute of limitations, § 6-5-574. Therefore, we affirm.
I.
Viewed in the light most favorable to the non-movant, Panell, the evidence indicates the following facts. Panell and Dr. Dan Sparks were shareholders of Village Enterprises, Inc. Panell alleges that in March 1993 he hired Henslee to file against Sparks an action concerning the corporation. In June 1993, before Henslee filed Panell's action, Sparks filed an action against Panell. Sparks claimed a breach of contract and sought the dissolution of Village Enterprises, Inc. Panell alleges that after the action was filed against him, he instructed Henslee to file an answer and a counterclaim asserting the claims that he had originally asked Henslee to file. Henslee did not file either an answer or a counterclaim, but he did file a motion to dismiss Sparks's complaint. On September 22, 1993, the trial court held a hearing on the motion to dismiss. During that hearing, Henslee discussed settlement with Sparks's attorney. Panell alleges that Henslee would not let him enter the courtroom during the hearing and that on September 22, 1993, without Panell's consent, Henslee agreed to a settlement that allowed Sparks to receive all the assets of Village Enterprises, Inc. Panell never signed any settlement-agreement documents. On October 5, 1993, in accordance with the terms of the alleged settlement agreement, Panell, under protest he says, executed warranty deeds conveying his interest in certain real property to Sparks. On January 31, 1994, the trial court noted on the case action summary sheet that the case had been settled. On August 18, 1994, the trial court dismissed the case. On January 30, 1996, Panell filed this legal-malpractice action against Henslee. He claims that Henslee committed legal malpractice by failing to file the counterclaim against Sparks and by agreeing to the settlement without Panell's authorization.
II.
This Court reviews a summary judgment by the same standard the trial court uses in determining whether to grant a summary- judgment motion. See Pryor v. Brown & Root USA, Inc., 674 So. 2d 45, 47 (Ala. 1995). The summary judgment was properly entered in this case if there was no genuine issue of material fact and if Henslee was entitled to a judgment as a matter of
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