Supreme Court denies appeal to attorneys seeking reversal of reinstatement of malpractice claim

In Bernstein v. Seyburn, Kahn, et al., the Michigan Supreme Court last month summarily denied leave to appeal sought by the defendant attorneys.  The high court had initially told the parties to brief the issues, after the attorneys appealed a Court of Appeals' opinion that reversed summary disposition and reinstated a malpractice claim brought by a podiatrist against his attorneys.

The high court changed its mind and endorsed the reinstatement of the claim in a summary order.  The Court of Appeals had concluded that the statute of limitation had not run on the podiatrist's claim that his attorney fraudulently concealed his breach of fiduciary duty by failing to disclose actions that were adverse to plaintiff's interest.  It had also ruled that the retention of additional counsel, while the at-fault attorneys continued to provide general legal advice, did not commence the running of the pertinent statute of limitations.