Professional Negligence Law Reporter

A Florida appellate court held that in a litigation context, the statute of limitations in a legal negligence suit begins to run when the litigation proceeds to judgment.

The court noted that the state high court established this bright-line rule and has not receded from it in subsequent cases. The court reasoned that until an underlying legal proceeding has been completed on appellate review, it cannot be determined whether there has been any actionable error by an attorney. Without a final judgment, the court added, the limitations statute is not triggered in a legal negligence case.

Thus, the court held that the trial court erred in finding that the limitations statute had begun to run in a legal negligence suit when a client paid attorney fees to new counsel in the underlying litigation.

Citation: Von Dyck v. Gavin, No. 1D21-3401 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Nov. 16, 2022).

Plaintiff counsel: Peter D. Webster and Jeffrey A. Cohen, both of Miami.