Gulf Coast Inv. Corp. v. Brown
| Decision Date | 04 December 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. D-1518,D-1518 |
| Citation | 821 S.W.2d 159 |
| Parties | GULF COAST INVESTMENT CORPORATION, Petitioner, v. Charles A. BROWN and Brown & Shapiro, Respondents. |
| Court | Texas Supreme Court |
Mary E. Wilson, Sharon Jaffer, Houston, for petitioner.
Sam A. Houston, Houston, for respondents.
We consider whether the tolling rule announced in Hughes v. Mahaney & Higgins, 821 S.W.2d 154 (Tex.1991) and Aduddell v. Parkhill, 821 S.W.2d 158 (Tex.1991), applies when an attorney's malpractice results in a wrongful foreclosure action by a third-party against a client. We hold that it does.
Gulf Coast Investment Corporation (GCIC) hired Brown & Shapiro (Brown) to conduct a non-judicial foreclosure sale of real property owned by Thomas and Darlene Smith (Smiths). On June 2, 1987, the sale was held. On August 1, 1987, an attorney for the Smiths informed GCIC that the sale was invalid due to improper notice. The Smiths filed a wrongful foreclosure action against GCIC on September 30, 1987. GCIC hired a new attorney and, on October 22, 1987, filed an answer. On May 12, 1989, judgment was rendered against GCIC. Shortly thereafter, Smith and GCIC entered into a settlement agreement.
On November 2, 1989, GCIC filed this legal malpractice action against Brown. Brown moved for summary judgment on the ground that GCIC's action was barred by limitations. The trial court granted Brown's motion for summary judgment. The court of appeals affirmed, holding that under the legal injury rule, GCIC's cause of action for legal malpractice accrued on September 30, 1987, when the Smiths sued GCIC. 813 S.W.2d 218. 1
When an attorney commits malpractice in the prosecution or defense of a claim that results in litigation, the statute of limitations on the malpractice claim against the attorney is tolled until all appeals on the underlying claim are exhausted. Hughes v. Mahaney & Higgins, 821 S.W.2d 154, 157 (Tex.1991); Aduddell v. Parkhill, 821 S.W.2d 158, 159 (Tex.1991). We see no reason why the tolling rule announced by this court in Hughes and Aduddell should not apply when the attorney's malpractice results, not in an appeal on the underlying claim, but in a wrongful foreclosure action by a third-party against the client. See Hughes, 821 S.W.2d at 157 ().
Therefore, we hold that when an attorney's malpractice in conducting a...
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