Soignier v. Fletcher

256 P.3d 730, 151 Idaho 322, 2011 Ida. LEXIS 104
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedJune 30, 2011
Docket37123
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 256 P.3d 730 (Soignier v. Fletcher) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Soignier v. Fletcher, 256 P.3d 730, 151 Idaho 322, 2011 Ida. LEXIS 104 (Idaho 2011).

Opinions

SUBSTITUTE OPINION. THE COURT’S PRIOR OPINION DATED JUNE 2, 2011 IS HEREBY WITHDRAWN

W. JONES, Justice.

I. Nature of the Case

Mary K. Soignier appeals the district court’s decision to grant summary judgment to W. Kent Fletcher, an attorney, on her claim for legal malpractice. She asserts that Fletcher negligently failed to ensure that a will he prepared conveyed to her the proceeds of a trust of which the decedent was a beneficiary until shortly before the decedent’s death. Since Fletcher adequately effectuated the testator’s intent as expressed in the will itself, the district court was correct to grant him summary judgment on the malpractice claim. However, this Court vacates the district court’s grant of attorney fees under I.C. § 12-120(3), as the malpractice claim in this ease does not stem from a commercial transaction.

II. Factual and Procedural Background

Attorney W. Kent Fletcher represented the decedent, Zachary A. Cowan, for several years until Cowan’s death in October of 2006. During his lifetime, Cowan was the beneficiary of a trust that his mother provided for him, known as the Leonarda A. Cowan Trust (the “Cowan Trust”). The terms of the Co-wan Trust provided that the trust would persist until Cowan reached age fifty, at which time it was to terminate and most of its assets were to be distributed to Cowan. Cowan’s fiftieth birthday was in 2003, and on March 4, 2005, he signed a Final Release and Discharge agreement in which he terminated his interest in the trust. Cowan did not have any beneficial interests in any other trusts.

[324]*324Shortly after terminating his interest in the Cowan Trust, Cowan instructed Fletcher to prepare his Last Will and Testament. The will provided that all of Cowan’s remaining beneficial interests in any trusts be devised to Mary Killins Soignier, Appellant. It also referred to a written list of items and intended recipients that was never located. The American Cancer Society was named as the residual devisee for all of Cowan’s other property.

Soignier filed a claim against Cowan’s estate for the proceeds from the Cowan Trust, which the magistrate rejected. The magistrate found that, because the trust had terminated, the will unambiguously conveyed any assets that remained in Cowan’s estate to the American Cancer Society.

Believing that Cowan intended to leave the trust assets to her, Soignier asserted this claim for legal malpractice against Fletcher in 2009. The district court granted summary judgment to Fletcher, ruling that there was no genuine issue of fact as to whether the will frustrated Cowan’s intent. The court also granted Fletcher’s request for attorney fees under I.C. § 12-120(3).

Soignier appealed to this Court, contending that Fletcher negligently failed to carry out Cowan’s wishes by inaccurately describing his trust assets. She further contends that it was improper to award fees under I.C. § 12-120(3) because she was never engaged in a commercial transaction with Fletcher. Fletcher responds that the will was not deficient in giving effect to Cowan’s intent to leave any remaining trust interests to Soignier and, additionally, that the fee award was correct because Soignier’s claim arises directly from a transaction for legal services between Fletcher and Cowan.

III.Issues on Appeal

1. Whether the district court correctly granted summary judgment to Fletcher on Soignier’s claim for legal malpractice by finding that no breach had occurred.

2. Whether Fletcher was entitled to attorney fees below under I.C. § 12-120(3) for defending against the legal-malpractice claim.

3.Whether either party is entitled to attorney fees on appeal under I.C. § 12-120(3).

IV.Standard of Review

This Court applies the same standard as the district court when ruling on a motion for summary judgment. Wesco Autobody Supply, Inc. v. Ernest, 149 Idaho 881, 890, 243 P.3d 1069, 1078 (2010). Summary judgment is proper if “the pleadings, depositions, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” I.R.C.P. 56(c). The movant has the burden of showing that no genuine issues of material fact exist. Stoddart v. Pocatello Sch. Dist. No. 25, 149 Idaho 679, 683, 239 P.3d 784, 788 (2010). Disputed facts and reasonable inferences are construed in favor of the nonmoving party. Castorena v. Gen. Elec., 149 Idaho 609, 613, 238 P.3d 209, 213 (2010). This Court freely reviews issues of law. Lattin v. Adams Cnty., 149 Idaho 497, 500, 236 P.3d 1257, 1260 (2010).

V.Analysis

A. The District Court Correctly Granted Summary Judgment to Fletcher Because He Did Not Breach a Duty to Soignier

There are four elements to a legal-malpractice claim: (1) there is an attorney-client relationship between the plaintiff and defendant; (2) the defendant lawyer owed a duty of care to the plaintiff; (3) the lawyer breached the duty; and (4) the lawyer’s negligence was a proximate cause of the client’s damage. Johnson v. Jones, 103 Idaho 702, 706, 652 P.2d 650, 654 (1982). Here, the parties do not dispute that the first two elements are present in this case, as Idaho recognizes an exception to the traditional requirement that the plaintiff have been in privity with the defendant lawyer in order to expect the lawyer to owe him or her a professional duty of care. In Harrigfeld v. Hancock, 140 Idaho 134, 90 P.3d 884 (2004), this Court extended the attorney’s duty to non-clients who are named or identified as benefi[325]*325riaries in a testamentary instrument. 140 Idaho at 138, 90 P.3d at 888.

The pivotal issue in this appeal is whether Fletcher breached his duty of care to Soignier by drafting a will that leaves to her interests in trusts when the decedent had no such interests. Harrigfeld explained that the attorney’s duty to a testamentary beneficiary requires the attorney to “effectuate the testator’s intent as expressed in the testamentary instruments.” Harrigfeld, 140 Idaho at 138, 90 P.3d at 888 (emphasis added). The attorney must properly draft and execute the will and other instruments, but only to effectuate the testator’s intent as expressed within those documents. Estate of Becker v. Callahan, 140 Idaho 522, 526, 96 P.3d 623, 627 (2004).

As there is no genuine issue of material fact as to whether Fletcher breached a duty to Soignier, the district court properly granted summary judgment. The relevant portion of the will is entitled “Residue,” and reads:

All of the rest, residue and remainder of my property which I own or have any interest in whatever at the time of my death, other than beneficial interests in trusts, I give, bequeath, and devise to the American Cancer Society.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
256 P.3d 730, 151 Idaho 322, 2011 Ida. LEXIS 104, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/soignier-v-fletcher-idaho-2011.