This website requires JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings, or use a different web browser like Google Chrome or Safari.

Options

From our private database of 33,800+ case briefs...

Labair v. Carey

Montana Supreme Court

291 P.3d 1160 (2012)

Facts

Holly and Robert Labair (the Labairs) (plaintiffs) lost a newborn baby and retained Steve Carey and his firm (Carey) (defendants) to sue their obstetrician. An expert opined that the obstetrician’s negligence proximately caused the baby’s death. Another specialist believed there was malpractice but was unwilling to testify. Three other medical experts could not provide favorable opinions. Carey filed medical-malpractice claims against the obstetrician and hospital but failed to file the required application with the Montana Medical Legal Panel (MMLP) within the statute of limitations. The court dismissed the Labairs’ claims as time barred. The Labairs sued Carey for legal malpractice. Carey moved for summary judgment, arguing that his conduct did not damage the Labairs because the underlying medical-malpractice claims could not be established by expert testimony. The court ruled that the Labairs failed to establish a prima facie case because they did not show the underlying medical-malpractice claims would have succeeded but for Carey’s failure to file the MMLP application. The Labairs appealed.

Rule of Law

The rule of law is the black letter law upon which the court rested its decision. To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

Issue

The issue section includes the dispositive legal issue in the case phrased as a question. To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

Holding and Reasoning (Cotter, J.)

The holding and reasoning section includes:

A "yes" or "no" answer to the question framed in the issue section;
A summary of the majority or plurality opinion, using the CREAC method; and
The procedural disposition (e.g., reversed and remanded, affirmed, etc.).

To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

Concurrence (Nelson, J.)

The concurrence section is for members only and includes a summary of the concurring judge or justice’s opinion. To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

What to do next…

Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.
You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 605,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.
Unlock this case brief Read our student testimonials
Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.
Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.
Learn about our approach Read more about Quimbee

Here's why 605,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 33,800 briefs, keyed to 984 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.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Here's why 605,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
33,800 briefs - keyed to 984 casebooks
Uniform format for every case brief
Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
Top-notch customer support