Lindsley v. Roe

964 N.E.2d 1063, 196 Ohio App. 3d 596
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 30, 2011
DocketNo. L-10-1243
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 964 N.E.2d 1063 (Lindsley v. Roe) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lindsley v. Roe, 964 N.E.2d 1063, 196 Ohio App. 3d 596 (Ohio Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

Singer, Judge.

{¶ 1} Appellants appeal summary judgments issued to their former lawyer by the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas in a legal-malpractice claim. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

{¶ 2} Appellants are Gregory Roe and his wholly-owned corporation, Willys-Overland Motors, Inc. Appellants engaged appellee, attorney William R. Linds-ley, as trial counsel in a contract dispute. That contest resulted in a joint judgment against appellants for $202,000 plus prejudgment interest, attorney and expert witness fees, and costs. That judgment was affirmed on appeal. W.O.M., Ltd. v. Willys-Overland Motors, Inc., 6th Dist. No. L-05-1201, 2006-Ohio-6997, 2006 WL 3825247.

{¶ 3} On December 28, 2007, appellants sued appellee for legal malpractice, alleging that he had failed to raise the corporate shield that would have protected appellant Roe from personal liability, neglected to provide proper settlement advice, and waived appellants’ right to a jury trial by neglecting to file a jury deposit. Appellee counterclaimed for unpaid legal fees.1

{¶ 4} Following discovery, appellee moved for summary judgment on all issues. He insisted that he had fulfilled his part of the representation agreement between the parties and should rightfully be compensated according to the agreement. On the malpractice question, appellee argued that the appellants’ suit was barred by the one-year statute of limitations for legal-malpractice claims. Alternatively, appellee maintained that, as a matter of law, appellants could never have prevailed on the corporate-shield issue because Gregory Roe signed the underlying contract in an individual capacity as well as in his capacity as corporate [600]*600president. The undisputed facts revealed that advising appellants to tender specific performance prior to judgment would have been futile and appellants could prove no legal injury from having the damages issue tried to the bench rather than a jury.

{¶ 5} Appellants responded with a memorandum in opposition in which they argued that the statute of limitations did not begin to run until, at the earliest, when this court affirmed the judgment of the trial court or, more probably, when the Ohio Supreme Court denied the discretionary appeal; either time was within the one-year statute. On the merits, appellants submitted the affidavit of an attorney who opined that appellee negligently waived the corporate-shield defense with respect to appellant Roe and negligently failed to counsel a tender of specific performance before the money judgment. On the issue of a jury waiver, appellants insisted that they need prove no damages, because the denial of the constitutional right to a jury trial implicates at least nominal damages.

{¶ 6} The trial court concluded that a question of material fact existed as to when the attorney-client relationship between the parties ended. As a result, summary judgment on the statute of limitations was precluded. On the merits, the court concluded that the corporate-shield defense was unavailable to Gregory Roe as a matter of law, because he had signed the original purchase agreement both as president of the corporation and “individually.” The court found no dispute in the evidence that, due to the enmity between the parties, appellants never intended to provide specific performance and that such a recommendation by appellee would have been futile. Moreover, the court ruled, appellants had presented no evidence of actual damage that might have flowed from having the damages portion of the case tried to the bench rather than to a jury.

{¶ 7} On these conclusions, the court found that there were no questions of material fact and that appellee was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. As a result, the court awarded summary judgment to appellee on the malpractice claim. In a concurrent judgment, the court also awarded appellee summary judgment for unpaid fees.

{¶ 8} From these judgments, appellants now bring this appeal. Appellants set forth the following two assignments of error:

{¶ 9} “I. The trial court committed reversible error in granting Lindsley’s Motion for Summary Judgment and dismissing Roe and Willys’ Complaint.

{¶ 10} “II. The trial court committed reversible error in granting Lindsley’s Motion for Summary Judgment as to his claim for fees.”

{¶ 11} In their first assignment of error, appellants maintain that the trial court erred in awarding summary judgment to appellee. Appellee counters that if we conclude that the trial court should not have granted summary judgment on [601]*601the merits, we should examine the trial court’s ruling on the statute-of-limitations question.

{¶ 12} Appellate courts employ the same standard for summary judgment as trial courts. Lorain Natl. Bank v. Saratoga Apts. (1989), 61 Ohio App.3d 127, 129, 572 N.E.2d 198. The motion may be granted only when it is demonstrated:

{¶ 13} “(1) that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact; (2) that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; and (3) that reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion, and that conclusion is adverse to the party against whom the motion for summary judgment is made, who is entitled to have the evidence construed most strongly in his favor.” Harless v. Willis Day Warehousing Co. (1978), 54 Ohio St.2d 64, 66, 375 N.E.2d 46; Civ.R. 56(C).

{¶ 14} When seeking summary judgment, a party must specifically delineate the basis upon which the motion is brought, Mitseff v. Wheeler (1988), 38 Ohio St.3d 112, 526 N.E.2d 798, syllabus, and identify those portions of the record that demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Dresher v. Burt (1996), 75 Ohio St.3d 280, 293, 662 N.E.2d 264. When a properly supported motion for summary judgment is made, an adverse party may not rest on mere allegations or denials in the pleading, but must respond with specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue of material fact. Civ.R. 56(E); Riley v. Montgomery (1984), 11 Ohio St.3d 75, 79, 463 N.E.2d 1246. A “material” fact is one that would affect the outcome of the suit under the applicable substantive law. Russell v. Interim Personnel, Inc. (1999), 135 Ohio App.3d 301, 304, 733 N.E.2d 1186; Needham v. Provident Bank (1996), 110 Ohio App.3d 817, 826, 675 N.E.2d 514, citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. (1986), 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
964 N.E.2d 1063, 196 Ohio App. 3d 596, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lindsley-v-roe-ohioctapp-2011.