Wise v. DLA Piper
Dennis Wise and Joan Macfarlane (together the Wises) were represented by the law firm, defendant DLA Piper LLC (US),[1] that aided them in obtaining a judgment in 1994 against William Cheng. However, DLA did not advise the Wises of the necessity to renew the judgment, and after 2004 the judgment became unenforceable. The Wises brought this action alleging malpractice and obtained a judgment against DLA. On appeal, DLA contends the evidence is insufficient to support the judgment against it because there was no evidence the Wises' judgment against Cheng would have been collectable even had it been renewed. DLA also contends on appeal (1) there was no substantial evidence the statute of limitations on the malpractice claim had been tolled by continuous representation, (2) the special verdict form was fatally flawed because it did not submit to the jury the issue of whether there had been continuous representation within four years of filing the complaint, and (3) even assuming the judgment as to liability and damages was proper, there was no legal basis for the award of attorney fees against DLA. We do not reach these contentions because of our conclusion that there was no substantial evidence the judgment against Cheng was collectable.
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