News Brief
Shepperd Legal Malpractice Appeal Where Negligence Was Conceded
John R. Shepperd (Partner-Houston) successfully defended the appeal of a defense verdict he secured in a legal malpractice trial. In the underlying case, a physician was awarded $300,000 plus attorney’s fees against his disability insurer. The physician was dissatisfied with the award and appealed. The physician’s law firm failed to perfect the appeal and the case was dismissed. The doctor then sued the law firm. The doctor’s attorney admitted he was negligent, so the case was tried on causation only. The trial court ruled in favor of John's client with a finding that the attorney's negligence did not cause any harm to the doctor, because the doctor would not have won the appeal. The doctor then appealed the trial court's decision. The Texas Third Court of Appeals reviewed the case de novo and affirmed the trial court's decision.