Legal malpractice can occur even when the attorney has successfully represented a client. This occurred in Bijou v. Young-Battle 185 Md.App. 268 (2009). Andrienne Young-Battle was bitten on the hand by a dog owned by Leila Bijou. Young-Battle retained counsel and sued Young-Battle for $250,000. The jury returned a verdict in the amount of $504,480, including $311,000 in loss earnings as a graphic designer. At this point, Young-Battle’s attorney should have requested that the Court amend her $250,000 damage demand to conform with the $504,480 verdict. But he didn’t. The result was that the Court reduced the $504,480 judgment to $250,000. The attorney’s malpractice cost the client $254,480.
Queries: Do you think that Young-Battle’s attorney was entitled to receive one-third of the reduced $250,000 verdict? If Young-Battle’s attorney had malpractice insurance that covered the $254,480 in damages, was the attorney entitled to receive one-third of $504,480 as fees?
