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Neel v. Magana, Olney, Levy, Cathcart & Gelfand

491 P.2d 421 (1971)

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Neel v. Magana, Olney, Levy, Cathcart & Gelfand

California Supreme Court
491 P.2d 421 (1971)

  • Written by Sharon Feldman, JD

Facts

Gerald Neel (plaintiff) retained an attorney named Delaney to file a wrongful-death action. Without informing Neel, Delaney associated the firm of Magana, Olney, Levy, Cathcart & Gelfand (Magana) (defendant) as counsel of record. A complaint was prepared and filed, but the action was dismissed in May 1965 for failure to serve summons within three years of the complaint’s filing. Delaney falsely represented to Neel over the next two years that the suit was still pending. In December 1967, Neel consulted with independent counsel and learned about the association of Magana and the dismissal of the action. In August 1968, Neel sued Magana for legal malpractice. The trial court granted Magana’s motion for summary judgment, finding that because Magana did not make the misrepresentations in 1966 and 1967, Neel’s legal-malpractice claim against Magana accrued on the day the wrongful-death action was dismissed and was therefore barred by the two-year statute of limitations. Neel appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Tobriner, J.)

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