Troppman v. Flaherty
When sued by a business associate, Donald Troppmann and New Beginnings International, Inc. (NBI), filed a cross-complaint for legal malpractice against the estate of Michael Flaherty, the attorney who had prepared the business agreement. (For ease of discussion, we refer to the estate as Flaherty and refer to the cross-complainants collectively as Troppmann/NBI, and individually as Troppmann and NBI.)
Flaherty moved for nonsuit, asserting the statute of limitations had run before Troppmann/NBI filed their cross complaint for malpractice. The trial court rejected this contention, rejected the tendered defense of unclean hands, and entered judgment in favor of Troppmann/NBI for $214,372.59. The court also awarded attorney fees to Troppmann/NBI. On appeal, Flaherty contends (1) the statute of limitations barred Troppmann/NBIs claim for malpractice, (2) there is no evidence to support a judgment in favor of Troppmann, (3) the doctrine of unclean hands precludes recovery, and (4) no award of attorney fees should have been made. Court agree only that Troppmann is not entitled to judgment. Court therefore reverse the judgment as to Troppmann individually and modify the award of attorney fees to reflect an award to NBI only. In all other respects, the judgment is affirmed.
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