Horne v. Peckham
California Court of Appeal
97 Cal. App. 3d 404 (1979)
- Written by Kate Luck, JD
Facts
Roy C. Horne (plaintiff) patented a process for using low-grade wood to make a defect-free material called Perfect Plank Plus. Horne hired Jordan Peckham (defendant) to prepare a type of trust called a Clifford trust in which to place the patent, in hopes of obtaining tax benefits and passing the profits to his sons. Peckham told Horne that he lacked expertise in tax matters, but that he could draft the documents if someone with tax expertise told him what to do. Peckham consulted with Horne’s accountant and asked questions of another tax lawyer and then drafted the trust documents himself. The Internal Revenue Service assessed a deficiency because the trust did not have the tax consequences Horne and Peckham contemplated. Horne sued Peckham for legal malpractice, and the jury decided in Horne’s favor. Peckham appealed, arguing that the validity of the documents was debatable and, therefore, he should not be held liable for malpractice.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Paras, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 899,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 47,000 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
