Sommers Schwartz attorney Matthew Turner settled a legal malpractice lawsuit for an undisclosed six-figure amount. Our client was the personal representative of his brother’s estate, the trustee of his brother’s trust, and a beneficiary of his estate.

Our client’s brother was diagnosed with a terminal illness with a very short life expectancy. Shortly thereafter, his brother’s wife filed a Complaint for Legal Separation. After consulting with an attorney, his brother filed a response to that Complaint. Unfortunately, his lawyer’s negligent drafting of the response included a paragraph requesting the court grant a Judgment of Divorce.

Subsequently, the spouses negotiated a Settlement Agreement resolving the litigation and memorializing the distribution of the estate. However, the agreement was not immediately effective. Because of the negligently drafted language in the brother’s response, the case was converted into a divorce action, subject to a mandatory waiting period that delayed its resolution.

The decedent died before the end of that waiting period, rendering the proposed settlement order null and void. Although our client engaged in litigation and mediation, attempting to settle the estate in accordance with his late brother’s wishes, he ultimately received significantly less than he would have under the Settlement Agreement.

Plaintiff’s lawsuit claimed that his brother’s attorney breached their duty of zealous representation and failed to meet the professional standard of care (the ordinary learning, judgment, and skill required of an attorney). If not for the attorney’s negligence, the court would not have converted the parties’ separation action to a divorce proceeding, and it would have entered the order approving the parties’ agreed settlement before his brother’s death. Our client claimed the attorney’s negligence harmed the decedent’s estate and violated his brother’s wishes. As a result, he was wrongfully deprived of the full amount his brother intended to leave him. Sommers Schwartz negotiated a six-figure settlement on behalf of our client individually, as Trustee of the decedent’s trust, and as the decedent’s personal representative.