Cline v. Teasdale

• Decision Date: 31 August 2004
• Docket Number: No. WD 63229.,WD 63229.
• Citation: 142 S.W.3d 215
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals
• Parties: Mark CLINE, Appellant, v. Joseph P. TEASDALE and Teasdale & Lafferty, Respondents.

142 S.W.3d 215

Mark CLINE, Appellant, v. Joseph P. TEASDALE and Teasdale & Lafferty, Respondents.

No. WD 63229.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District.

August 31, 2004.

Appeal from the Circuit Court, Jackson County, Ann Mesle, J Timothy Paul Orrick, Neil B. Foth, Lenexa, KS, for appellant.

Richard F. Adams, Kansas City, MO, for respondent.

Before ULRICH, P.J., and LOWENSTEIN and EDWIN H. SMITH, JJ.

EDWIN H. SMITH, Chief Judge.

Mark Cline appeals from the summary judgment of the Circuit Court of Jackson County for the respondents, Joseph P. Teasdale and the law firm of Teasdale & Lafferty, a general partnership, on the appellant's amended petition for damages for legal malpractice. In his amended petition, the appellant alleged that Teasdale was negligent in representing him in a probation revocation proceeding, resulting in the revocation of the probation he was serving on a conviction of involuntary manslaughter. Specifically, the appellant alleged that Teasdale was negligent in failing to challenge the jurisdiction of the circuit court to revoke him. The appellant further alleged that Teasdale & Lafferty was liable for Teasdale's negligence on a theory of agency. The respondents obtained summary judgment on two grounds: (1) Teasdale's failure to challenge the circuit court's jurisdiction to revoke did not constitute negligence and did not result in the revocation of the appellant's probation in that the circuit court had jurisdiction to revoke the appellant's probation; and (2) Teasdale's failure to challenge the circuit court's jurisdiction to revoke, even if negligent, was not the proximate cause of the appellant's alleged damages. The respondents alleged a third ground for summary judgment, that the appellant was barred from bringing his malpractice claim by the doctrine of collateral estoppel, but the trial court did not address that ground.

The appellant raises three points on appeal. In Point I, he claims that the trial court erred in entering summary judgment for the respondents, based on the court's finding that the circuit court had jurisdiction to revoke his probation, because, the trial court's finding was contrary to the facts alleged in the respondents' motion, even when taken as true, and the applicable law. In Point II, he claims that the trial court erred in entering summary judgment for the respondents, based on the court's finding that even if Teasdale was negligent as alleged, his negligence was not the proximate cause of the appellant's alleged damages, because the trial court's finding is contrary to the facts alleged in the respondents' motion, even when taken as true, and the applicable law. In Point III, recognizing that we must affirm on any ground supported by the summary judgment record, the appellant claims that "[t]his court should not grant Teasdale's Motion for Summary Judgment on the grounds of collateral estoppel[.]"

We affirm.

Facts

On May 26, 1992, the appellant was charged in the Circuit Court of Platte County, by way of information, with one count of involuntary manslaughter, § 565.024.¹ The charge arose from an auto accident, caused by the appellant while driving under the influence of alcohol, which resulted in the death of another motorist. On September 22, 1992, the appellant pled guilty to the charged offense. As a result of his conviction, the appellant was sentenced, on November 19, 1992, to six years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. On March 19, 1993, after serving 120 days of his sentence, the appellant was granted a conditional early release, § 559.115.2, and placed on supervised probation for a period of five years.

On March 11, 1998, the circuit court sent a letter to the appellant, which he received on March 16, 1998, advising him of a possible probation violation, and that as a result his probation was being suspended and a probation revocation hearing was scheduled for April 2, 1998. The alleged violation prompting the suspension was for "domestic abuse," which was brought to the court's attention while it was reading the "Final Case Summary Report" filed by Probation and Parole. On March 19, 1998, the appellant, while meeting with his probation officer, was given oral notice of another possible probation violation, this one for allegedly drinking and driving on March 14, 1998. On the following day, March 20, 1998, the appellant retained Teasdale to represent him at the April 2, 1998, revocation hearing. The hearing occurred as scheduled, resulting in the revocation of the appellant's probation, based solely on the circuit court's finding that he had violated his probation by drinking and driving on March 14, 1998.

On April 9, 2002, the appellant filed a petition for damages against the respondents in the Circuit Court of Jackson County alleging legal malpractice. On May 9, 2002, he filed an amended petition, alleging that Teasdale was negligent in failing to challenge the jurisdiction of the circuit court to revoke his probation. On February 25, 2003, the respondents filed their motion for summary judgment, which was granted on August 19, 2003.

This appeal followed.

Standard of Review

In reviewing the grant of summary judgment:

[o]ur review is essentially de novo. The criteria on appeal for testing the propriety of summary judgment are no different from those which should be employed by the trial court to determine the propriety of sustaining the motion initially. The propriety of summary judgment is purely an issue of law. As the trial court's judgment is founded on the record submitted and the law, an appellate court need not defer to the trial court's order granting summary judgment.

ITT Commercial Fin. Corp. v. Mid-Am. Marine Supply Corp., 854 S.W.2d 371, 376 (Mo. banc 1993) (citations omitted). Summary judgment will be upheld on appeal if: (1) there is no genuine dispute of material fact, and (2) the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. at 380.

When considering appeals from summary judgments, the [c]ourt will review the record in the light most favorable to the party against whom judgment was entered. Facts set forth by affidavit or otherwise in support of a party's motion are taken as true unless contradicted by the non-moving party's response to the summary judgment motion. We accord the non-movant the benefit of all reasonable inferences from the record.

Id. at 376 (citations omitted).

I.

In Point I, the appellant claims that the trial court erred in entering summary judgment for the respondents on the appellant's claim of legal malpractice against Teasdale, based on the court's finding that the circuit court had jurisdiction to revoke his probation, because, the trial court's finding was contrary to the facts alleged in the respondents' motion, even when taken as true, and the applicable law. We disagree.

To be entitled to summary judgment, the movant must demonstrate that: (1) there is no genuine dispute as to the material facts on which he relies for summary judgment; and (2) on those facts, he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Rule 74.04;² Block Properties Co. v. Am. Nat'l Ins. Co., 998 S.W.2d 168, 173 (Mo. App.1999). A movant's right to judgment as a matter of law differs significantly depending upon whether that movant is a "claimant" or a "defending party." ITT Commercial Fin. Corp., 854 S.W.2d at 381. "A `claimant' must establish that there is no genuine dispute as to those material facts upon which the `claimant' would have had the burden of persuasion at trial[,]" entitling the claimant to judgment as a matter of law. Id. On the other hand, a defending party may establish a right to judgment by employing one or more of three means: (1) showing undisputed facts that negate any one of the plaintiff's required proof elements; (2) showing that the plaintiff, after an adequate period of discovery, has not produced and will not be able to produce evidence sufficient to allow the trier of fact to find the existence of one or more of the plaintiff's proof elements; or (3) showing that there is no genuine dispute as to the existence of each of the facts necessary to prove the movant's properly pleaded affirmative defense. Id. "Regardless of which of these three means is employed by the `defending party,' each establishes a right to judgment as a matter of law." Id.

To establish a claim of legal malpractice, the plaintiff must prove: (1) an attorney-client relationship; (2) that the attorney acted negligently or in breach of contract; (3) that but for the attorney's conduct, the client would have been successful in prosecuting their underlying claim; and (4) that the attorney's negligent acts were the proximate cause of damages sustained by the client. Emery v. Carnahan, 88 S.W.3d 138, 142 (Mo.App. 2002). In their motion for summary judgment, the respondents alleged, inter alia, facts which would negate either the second or third proof-elements of the appellant's malpractice claim. Specifically, they alleged in their motion facts which they contend, under the applicable law, established that Teasdale's failure to challenge the circuit court's jurisdiction to revoke appellant's probation did not constitute negligence and did not result in his being revoked in that even if Teasdale had challenged the court's jurisdiction, appellant would not have been successful in that the circuit court had jurisdiction to revoke. Logically, an attorney is not negligent in failing to engage in a futile act. See Brooks v. State, 51 S.W.3d 909, 914 (Mo. App.2001) (holding that trial counsel is not ineffective in a criminal case for failing to engage in a futile act). And, logically, such an act could never be an impediment to the successful prosecution of the underlying claim, in this case, the appellant's successful defense of the alleged probation violation on jurisdictional grounds. Thus, if the facts alleged by the respondents in their motion were undisputed and established, under the...