RDH Communications, Ltd. v. Winston
Decision Date | 18 September 1997 |
Docket Number | No. 96-CV-143.,96-CV-143. |
Citation | 700 A.2d 766 |
Parties | R.D.H. COMMUNICATIONS, LTD., et al., Appellants, v. James L. WINSTON, et al., Appellees. |
Court | D.C. Court of Appeals |
John K. Henderson, Jr., was on the brief for appellants.
Jack A. Gould, Washington, DC, for appellees. Aaron L. Handleman, Washington, DC, also entered an appearance for appellees.
Before SCHWELB and RUIZ, Associate Judges, and GALLAGHER, Senior Judge.
In this legal malpractice action, the clients (appellants) argue we should adopt the continuous representation rule in relation to the statute of limitations. Under such a rule, the statute of limitations on their claim would begin to run on the date their attorney (appellee) ceased to represent them in the specific matter in which he allegedly committed malpractice. We hereby adopt the continuous representation rule and, therefore, reverse and remand.
Appellee attorney James L. Winston represented appellant R.D.H. Communications, Ltd. in its effort to build a new FM radio station in Baker, Louisiana. Winston was responsible for preparing and filing an application to the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC"). On January 28, 1991, the FCC dismissed the application because it failed to include a financial certification page.
On January 29, 1991, Attorney Winston wrote to Mr. David Greenberg, the son of one of R.D.H.'s limited partners, and offered three explanations as to what could have happened to the missing page: (1) the page was lost in the process of being sent to the general partner of R.D.H., Ms. Renette Hall, for signature and return to Winston's office; (2) the page was lost during the photocopying process prior to being filed with the FCC; and (3) the FCC lost the page. Winston stated the second scenario raised the possibility that the page might have been lost by the law firm, but that in ten years of filing such applications this was the first time there had ever been a missing page. Winston indicated the firm would be preparing a petition for reconsideration and offered the following analysis:
It is too early to provide a complete assessment of the likelihood of success of our petition. However, our initial research suggests that we have a strong argument for reinstatement. We will do everything we can to get the application reinstated, and I will keep you fully advised of our progress.
On February 19, 1991, Winston sent a copy of the petition for reconsideration in the FCC to R.D.H. partner Renette Hall. In his cover letter, he wrote:
I am confident that we will be successful in obtaining reinstatement of your application. I will keep you advised.
The FCC denied the petition for reconsideration and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed, on a motion for summary affirmance, the FCC's decision. On March 15, 1994, Winston wrote to R.D.H. partner Hall indicating that it was unlikely that the Court of Appeals would rehear a case that was decided on summary affirmance and it was unlikely that the United States Supreme Court would accept their case on appeal. Winston concluded:
Therefore, we have come to the end of the road on this case. I regret it did not turn out differently. Best regards, please stay in touch.
R.D.H. and limited partner Lawrence Weinberg sued Winston and his law firm for malpractice on August 17, 1995. The trial court found that R.D.H. knew or should have known of the injury on January 29, 1991, the date of the first letter from Attorney Winston; and therefore, based on the discovery rule, the cause of action accrued on that date. Thus, the court reasoned, the action was time-barred by the three-year statute of limitations, pursuant to D.C.Code § 12-301 (1995 Repl.), and granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment. R.D.H. filed a motion for reconsideration. The trial court denied this motion, but noted that its failure to invoke the so-called continuous representation rule may be unnecessarily harsh to plaintiffs who may have been injured by defendants' alleged malpractice. The court concluded it was applying the law "as it stands" and noted any change in the law should come from the Court of Appeals.
Summary judgment must be granted if there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 56(c) (1997). In reviewing the trial court's grant of summary judgment, we conduct an independent review of the record applying the same standard as the trial court. Colbert v. Georgetown Univ., 641 A.2d 469, 472 (D.C. 1994) (en banc). Where there is a question of law and the facts are undisputed, we will reverse the trial court only if the court reached an erroneous conclusion. Dale Denton Real Estate v. Fitzgerald, 635 A.2d 925, 927 (D.C.1993).
The statute of limitations for a legal malpractice claim is governed by the discovery rule "in cases where the relationship between the fact of injury and some tortious conduct is obscure at the time of injury." Knight v. Furlow, 553 A.2d 1232, 1234 (D.C. 1989).
Under this rule, a cause of action accrues when the plaintiff has knowledge of (or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should have knowledge of) (1) the existence of the injury, (2) its cause in fact, and (3) some evidence of wrongdoing.
Id. (citing Bussineau v. President & Directors of Georgetown College, 518 A.2d 423, 425 (D.C.1986)). Therefore, under the statute of limitations, R.D.H. had three years from the date of discovery to bring suit against Winston and his firm. Because the trial court found the discovery occurred on January 29, 1991, when Winston notified R.D.H. that his law firm might have lost the missing page, R.D.H. should have filed suit on or by January 29, 1994. Instead, the attorney malpractice claim was filed on August 17, 1995.
Weisberg v. Williams, Connolly & Califano, 390 A.2d 992, 995 (D.C.1978).1 Thus, in essence, under the continuous representation rule the cause of action is tolled until the attorney ceases to represent the client in the specific matter at hand. Here, when the representation by Winston and his firm terminated is a question of fact that should be answered upon remand to the trial court. Wall v. Lewis, 393 N.W.2d 758, 763 (N.D. 1986).
The purpose and parameters of the rule have been recognized by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia:
The rule's primary purpose is to avoid placing a client in the untenable position of suing his attorney while the latter continues to represent him. For that reason, the rule is limited "to situations in which the attorney who allegedly was responsible for the malpractice continues to represent the client in that case."
Williams v. Mordkofsky, supra note 1, 284 U.S.App. D.C. at 57, 901 F.2d at 163 (quoting Glamm v. Allen, 57 N.Y.2d 87, 453 N.Y.S.2d 674, 677, 439 N.E.2d 390, 393 (1982)). Indeed, the rule is based on respect for the attorney/client relationship and the desire, if the client so chooses, to avoid unnecessarily disrupting the representation in which the error occurred. Ronald E. Mallen & Jeffrey M. Smith, Legal Malpractice § 21.12, at 817 and 824 (4th ed.1996).
The attorney has the opportunity to remedy, avoid or establish that there was no error or attempt to mitigate the damages. The client is not forced to end the relationship, although the option exists.
In this case, there could be no clearer proof that Winston and the firm were attempting to remedy the error. Winston informed R.D.H. that his law firm might have lost the financial certification page, and in fact, assured R.D.H. that his firm would "do everything we can to get the application reinstated." Undoubtedly, at this point R.D.H. could have fired Winston and hired a new attorney to both get the application approved and file a malpractice claim against Winston and his firm. However, R.D.H.'s decision to stay the course with Winston is not one this court should second-guess in relation to the statute of limitations issue. Shortly after informing R.D.H. of the original error, attorney Winston assured R.D.H. partner Hall that he was "confident that we will be successful in obtaining reinstatement of your application." Whether R.D.H. chose to remain with Winston because of his assurances, because of his firm's ten years of experience in filing such applications, or because of blind loyalty is of no consequence to us now. Often, a client looks to his attorney for advice in areas in which he knows little to nothing. This is a relationship of trust and we see no compelling reason for effectively informing the client that he can no longer trust the professional from whom he seeks guidance, especially when this professional with expertise in the field indicates he is confident that the error can be remedied. See Greene v. Greene, 56 N.Y.2d 86, 451 N.Y.S.2d 46, 51, 436 N.E.2d 496, 501 (1982) ( ...
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