New Case on Judgment on the Pleadings and the Discovery Rule to Toll the Statute of Limitations in a Legal Malpractice Case

In October 2020, the Tennessee Court of Appeals released its opinion in Culpepper v. Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C., No. E2019-01932-COA-R3-CV (Oct. 16, 2020).  The syllabus from the slip opinion reads:

In this legal malpractice action, the trial court granted judgment on the pleadings in favor of the defendants, determining that the plaintiff had waived any conflict of interest in his signed engagement letter. The court also ruled that the plaintiff’s legal malpractice claims were barred by the applicable statute of limitations. The plaintiff has appealed. Upon our review of the pleadings and acceptance as true of all well-pleaded facts contained in the plaintiff’s complaint and the reasonable inferences that may be drawn therefrom, we determine that the plaintiff has pled sufficient facts in support of his claim of legal malpractice. We therefore reverse the trial court’s grant of judgment on the pleadings with regard to the plaintiff’s legal malpractice claim.

(Footnote omitted.)

Here is a link to the slip opinion:

https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/culpepper_v._baker_donelson_e2019-01932.pdf

NOTE: This case discusses judgment on the pleadings and the discovery rule under Tennessee law.  It is a good read.  Please note, however, that it was appealed to SCOTN on January 11, 2021 (https://www2.tncourts.gov/PublicCaseHistory/) and no decision has been made as to whether SCOTN will take it up yet.  Until that happens, one must, obviously, monitor this case before citing it.  Stay tuned.