[134]*134Liacos, C.J.
David K. Murphy and Sue Ellen Murphy (plaintiffs) initiated this legal malpractice action on October 13, 1987, against Attorney Peirce B. Smith (defendant) for negligently certifying good record title to a parcel of land that the plaintiffs were purchasing.2 The defendant submitted a motion to dismiss the claims against him pursuant to Mass. R. Civ. P. 12 (b) (6), 365 Mass. 754 (1974), or alternatively, for summary judgment pursuant to Mass. R. Civ. P. 56, 365 Mass. 824 (1974), claiming that the plaintiffs had failed to file their complaint within the period required by the applicable statute of limitations. A judge in the Superior Court allowed the defendant’s motion for summary judgment without discussion. A motion for reconsideration was denied. A separate final judgment was entered dismissing the complaint against the defendant. Mass. R. Civ. P. 54 (b), 365 Mass. 820 (1974). The plaintiffs appealed. We transferred the appeal to this court on our own motion. We vacate the judgment and remand the case to the Superior Court for trial.
Facts. We recite the relevant facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, who opposed the motion for summary judgment. Attorney Gen. v. Bailey, 386 Mass. 367, 370-371, cert. denied sub nom. Bailey v. Bellotti, 459 U.S. 970 (1982). By a deed dated March 28, 1980, the plaintiffs purchased a lot of land in Attleboro as tenants by the entirety. The purchase was financed by a purchase money mortgage obtained through First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Attleboro (now First Federal Savings Bank of America) (mortgagee). The defendant acted as attorney for the mortgagee in the transaction. On March 31, 1980, the defendant transmitted to the plaintiffs certification of good record title to the lot.
[135]*135Mr. George I. Spatcher, Jr., an attorney representing the plaintiffs’ neighbors, sent a letter, dated July 14, 1983 (the Spatcher letter), to the plaintiffs alleging that his clients were the true owners of the lot. On July 18, 1983, the plaintiffs notified the mortgagee and forwarded a copy of the Spatcher letter to the mortgagee’s president, Willard E. Olmsted. The matter was referred to the defendant, who thereafter reported to Olmsted and to the plaintiffs “[djuring 1983 and 1984.”3
In March, 1985, the plaintiffs retained the services of Attorney Carol F. Grayson. Ms. Grayson sent the defendant a letter, dated March 6, 1985, demanding relief pursuant to G. L. c. 93A (1990 ed.).4 The plaintiffs’ present counsel filed this action against the defendant in the Superior Court on October 13, 1987.
Statute of limitations. The only issue before us is whether the applicable statute of limitations bars the plaintiffs from maintaining an action against the defendant. The parties concede that G. L. c. 260, § 4 (1990 ed.), controls.5 General [136]*136Laws c. 260, § 4, provides, in part: “Actions of contract or tort for malpractice, error or mistake against attorneys . . . shall be commenced only within three years next after the cause of action accrues.” The threshold question is, at what point does the cause of action accrue for legal malpractice in the certification of good record title in a real estate transaction, thus beginning the statute of limitations period? Once that question is answered, we must evaluate whether any genuine issue of material fact exists warranting a trial.
The defendant urges us to adopt July 18, 1983, the day the plaintiffs received the Spatcher letter, as the accrual date for the plaintiffs’ cause of action. On that day, the defendant argues, the facts underlying the cause of action were no longer “inherently unknowable,” and at that point the plaintiffs had suffered appreciable harm.
A cause of action accrues when there occurs a “necessary coalescence of discovery and appreciable harm.” Cantu v. Saint Paul Cos., 401 Mass. 53, 57 (1987). See Massachusetts Elec. Co. v. Fletcher, Tilton & Whipple, P.C., 394 Mass. 265 (1985). In Hendrickson v. Sears, 365 Mass. 83 (1974), we held that a cause of action against an attorney for negligently certifying good title to real estate accrues when “the misrepresentation is discovered or should reasonably have been discovered, whichever first occurs.” Id. at 91. Consequently, when the plaintiffs received a letter from their neighbors’ attorney informing the plaintiffs that the neighbors were asserting a legal right to the property, the plaintiffs had sufficient notice of the facts to make the defendant’s alleged negligence no longer inherently unknowable.
Even if we assume further that, where an attorney negligently certifies good record title to real estate and the client purchased the land relying on the attorney’s representation, the client suffered appreciable harm at that time, see Hen[137]*137drickson v. Sears, supra6 our inquiry does not end. The plaintiffs ask us to adopt the continuing representation doctrine, which tolls the statute of limitations in legal malpractice actions where the attorney in question continues to represent the plaintiff’s interests in the matter in question. The continuing representation doctrine has been recognized in many jurisdictions. See, e.g., Succession of Smith v. Kavanaugh, Pierson & Talley, 565 So. 2d 990, 995 (La. Ct. App. 1990); Greene v. Greene, 56 N.Y.2d 86, 93-95 (1982); Schoenrock v. Tappe, 419 N.W.2d 197, 200 (S.D. 1988); McCormick v. Romans, 214 Va. 144, 148-149 (1973). The issue of continuing representation was raised but not reached in Cantu, supra at 58. The doctrine “recognizes that a person seeking professional assistance has a right to repose confidence in the professional’s ability and good faith, and realistically cannot be expected to question and assess the techniques employed or the manner in which the services are rendered.” Id., quoting Greene v. Greene, supra at 94. It is not “realistic to say that the client’s right of action accrued before he terminated the relationship with the attorney.” Greene v. Greene, supra at 95. The statute of limitations period does not begin to run until “the termination of the undertaking.” McCormick v. Romans, supra at 148.
In the present case, the plaintiffs submitted an affidavit which stated that, when they referred their neighbors’ letter to the defendant in July of 1983, he told them that the letter “did not present a cause for concern and that he would take care of it.” The plaintiffs’ affidavit also stated that based upon these statements, the plaintiffs considered the defendant to be their attorney with respect to the title dispute. For the purposes of reviewing the grant of summary judgment, we must assume that the defendant again undertook to represent the plaintiffs when he made these statements. Pursu[138]
Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI
[134]*134Liacos, C.J.
David K. Murphy and Sue Ellen Murphy (plaintiffs) initiated this legal malpractice action on October 13, 1987, against Attorney Peirce B. Smith (defendant) for negligently certifying good record title to a parcel of land that the plaintiffs were purchasing.2 The defendant submitted a motion to dismiss the claims against him pursuant to Mass. R. Civ. P. 12 (b) (6), 365 Mass. 754 (1974), or alternatively, for summary judgment pursuant to Mass. R. Civ. P. 56, 365 Mass. 824 (1974), claiming that the plaintiffs had failed to file their complaint within the period required by the applicable statute of limitations. A judge in the Superior Court allowed the defendant’s motion for summary judgment without discussion. A motion for reconsideration was denied. A separate final judgment was entered dismissing the complaint against the defendant. Mass. R. Civ. P. 54 (b), 365 Mass. 820 (1974). The plaintiffs appealed. We transferred the appeal to this court on our own motion. We vacate the judgment and remand the case to the Superior Court for trial.
Facts. We recite the relevant facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, who opposed the motion for summary judgment. Attorney Gen. v. Bailey, 386 Mass. 367, 370-371, cert. denied sub nom. Bailey v. Bellotti, 459 U.S. 970 (1982). By a deed dated March 28, 1980, the plaintiffs purchased a lot of land in Attleboro as tenants by the entirety. The purchase was financed by a purchase money mortgage obtained through First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Attleboro (now First Federal Savings Bank of America) (mortgagee). The defendant acted as attorney for the mortgagee in the transaction. On March 31, 1980, the defendant transmitted to the plaintiffs certification of good record title to the lot.
[135]*135Mr. George I. Spatcher, Jr., an attorney representing the plaintiffs’ neighbors, sent a letter, dated July 14, 1983 (the Spatcher letter), to the plaintiffs alleging that his clients were the true owners of the lot. On July 18, 1983, the plaintiffs notified the mortgagee and forwarded a copy of the Spatcher letter to the mortgagee’s president, Willard E. Olmsted. The matter was referred to the defendant, who thereafter reported to Olmsted and to the plaintiffs “[djuring 1983 and 1984.”3
In March, 1985, the plaintiffs retained the services of Attorney Carol F. Grayson. Ms. Grayson sent the defendant a letter, dated March 6, 1985, demanding relief pursuant to G. L. c. 93A (1990 ed.).4 The plaintiffs’ present counsel filed this action against the defendant in the Superior Court on October 13, 1987.
Statute of limitations. The only issue before us is whether the applicable statute of limitations bars the plaintiffs from maintaining an action against the defendant. The parties concede that G. L. c. 260, § 4 (1990 ed.), controls.5 General [136]*136Laws c. 260, § 4, provides, in part: “Actions of contract or tort for malpractice, error or mistake against attorneys . . . shall be commenced only within three years next after the cause of action accrues.” The threshold question is, at what point does the cause of action accrue for legal malpractice in the certification of good record title in a real estate transaction, thus beginning the statute of limitations period? Once that question is answered, we must evaluate whether any genuine issue of material fact exists warranting a trial.
The defendant urges us to adopt July 18, 1983, the day the plaintiffs received the Spatcher letter, as the accrual date for the plaintiffs’ cause of action. On that day, the defendant argues, the facts underlying the cause of action were no longer “inherently unknowable,” and at that point the plaintiffs had suffered appreciable harm.
A cause of action accrues when there occurs a “necessary coalescence of discovery and appreciable harm.” Cantu v. Saint Paul Cos., 401 Mass. 53, 57 (1987). See Massachusetts Elec. Co. v. Fletcher, Tilton & Whipple, P.C., 394 Mass. 265 (1985). In Hendrickson v. Sears, 365 Mass. 83 (1974), we held that a cause of action against an attorney for negligently certifying good title to real estate accrues when “the misrepresentation is discovered or should reasonably have been discovered, whichever first occurs.” Id. at 91. Consequently, when the plaintiffs received a letter from their neighbors’ attorney informing the plaintiffs that the neighbors were asserting a legal right to the property, the plaintiffs had sufficient notice of the facts to make the defendant’s alleged negligence no longer inherently unknowable.
Even if we assume further that, where an attorney negligently certifies good record title to real estate and the client purchased the land relying on the attorney’s representation, the client suffered appreciable harm at that time, see Hen[137]*137drickson v. Sears, supra6 our inquiry does not end. The plaintiffs ask us to adopt the continuing representation doctrine, which tolls the statute of limitations in legal malpractice actions where the attorney in question continues to represent the plaintiff’s interests in the matter in question. The continuing representation doctrine has been recognized in many jurisdictions. See, e.g., Succession of Smith v. Kavanaugh, Pierson & Talley, 565 So. 2d 990, 995 (La. Ct. App. 1990); Greene v. Greene, 56 N.Y.2d 86, 93-95 (1982); Schoenrock v. Tappe, 419 N.W.2d 197, 200 (S.D. 1988); McCormick v. Romans, 214 Va. 144, 148-149 (1973). The issue of continuing representation was raised but not reached in Cantu, supra at 58. The doctrine “recognizes that a person seeking professional assistance has a right to repose confidence in the professional’s ability and good faith, and realistically cannot be expected to question and assess the techniques employed or the manner in which the services are rendered.” Id., quoting Greene v. Greene, supra at 94. It is not “realistic to say that the client’s right of action accrued before he terminated the relationship with the attorney.” Greene v. Greene, supra at 95. The statute of limitations period does not begin to run until “the termination of the undertaking.” McCormick v. Romans, supra at 148.
In the present case, the plaintiffs submitted an affidavit which stated that, when they referred their neighbors’ letter to the defendant in July of 1983, he told them that the letter “did not present a cause for concern and that he would take care of it.” The plaintiffs’ affidavit also stated that based upon these statements, the plaintiffs considered the defendant to be their attorney with respect to the title dispute. For the purposes of reviewing the grant of summary judgment, we must assume that the defendant again undertook to represent the plaintiffs when he made these statements. Pursu[138]*138ant to the continuing representation doctrine, the applicable statute of limitations for the plaintiffs’ malpractice action should have been tolled from the beginning of this representation until the defendant’s termination.
Thus, it becomes a question of fact as to when the services of the defendant in regard to the title dispute were undertaken and when they were terminated. The defendant contends that his services were terminated when the plaintiffs allegedly enlisted the services of Attorney Lewis. The plaintiffs deny ever hiring Mr. Lewis. A genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether the plaintiffs hired Mr. Lewis and, if so, when. Therefore, the judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded for trial.
So ordered.