Legal Malpractice - Oakland, California. September, 2003
Confidential Settlement: $200,000

This settlement came out of a legal malpractice suit filed against a firm for transactional real estate malpractice. The lawyer in this case failed to advise our client, the seller of commercial property, of the duty to specifically identify and list known structural reports reflecting potential defects. The seller generally identified reports and problems but did not list specific reports he had in his possession at the time of the sale. Buyer rescinded when she allegedly discovered a negative report she claimed she had never seen. Since the client couldnt prove the report had actually been given to the buyer, he lost. The law firm defended on the basis that it was never hired to provide full and complete advice on the transaction, that it was only re-drafting the agreements from a straight sale to a lease option, and that the real fault lay with the sellers real estate brokers.