Kelley/Witherspoon, LLP v. Armstrong International Services, Inc.
Dallas Court of Appeals, No. 05-14-00130-CV (July 27, 2015)
Justices Fillmore, Myers, and Evans (Opinion)
In this legal malpractice case, the jury found attorney Kelley 95% responsible and attorney Witherspoon 5% responsible for failing to respond to defendant’s special appearance in the underlying litigation and, thus, losing their client’s case. Witherspoon appealed on the grounds there was no evidence of negligence on his part, arguing that Kelley was the attorney in charge and that he, Witherspoon, had done very little work on the case. But the Dallas Court of Appeals refused to let him off the hook. It noted that Witherspoon’s name was on the pleadings and that the focus of the client’s malpractice allegations was that neither attorney took the necessary actions to protect the client’s interests in the underlying suit. It observed that “[a] claim for malpractice may be based upon an attorney’s inaction as well as his actions.” If you are an attorney of record, the Court concluded, you have a responsibility to ensure the client is protected.
