Gerber Products Co. v. Mitchell Williams Selig Gates & Woodyard, PLLC, No. 20-2912 (8th Cir. 2022)
Annotate this CaseThe Eighth Circuit reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the law firm in a legal malpractice action brought by Gerber, alleging that the firm disclosed privileged documents. Applying the Restatement (Third) of the Law Governing Lawyers, the court concluded that Gerber will have to show that the attorneys' negligence led, in a natural and continuous sequence, to the extra fees paid, and that it would not have incurred the fees in the absence of the firm's negligence. Accordingly, the court remanded for further proceedings. The court also concluded that corrective fees are available, even without an underlying judgment. The court agreed with the district court that the action was not barred by the applicable statute of limitations.
Court Description: [Stras, Author, with Colloton and Erickson, Circuit Judges] Civil Case - Diversity - Legal Malpractice. After Gerber Products' lawyers erred by disclosing privileged documents, Gerber Products brought a legal malpractice suit for fees incurred when subsequent lawyers took corrective action. The district court granted summary judgment to the law firm because the malpractice suit was filed before the underlying state court case had gone to trial and there was no way to know whether the result of the underlying action would have been different. This court reverses, by applying the Restatement (Third) of the Law Governing Lawyers, the lawyers' negligence led to a natural and continuous sequence of extra fees and tey may be liable for damages proximately caused by the wrongful acts. Corrective fees are available even without an underlying judgment. The district court correctly held that the suit was not barred by the applicable statute of limitations. Judge Erickson concurring and dissenting.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.