Estate – Malpractice

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WI Supreme Court

Case Name: David Macleish, et al. v. Boardman & Clark LLP

Case No.: 2019 WI 31

Focus: Estate – Malpractice

The petitioners, collectively the MacLeish children, seek review of an unpublished court of appeals decision affirming the circuit court’s order dismissing their legal malpractice claim against the law firm that administered their father’s estate.  The court of appeals assumed without deciding that the MacLeish children could bring a claim for legal malpractice based on the negligent administration of an estate. It nevertheless affirmed the circuit court’s dismissal of the claim against the Boardman law firm because the children failed to demonstrate that the firm’s alleged negligent administration of their father’s estate thwarted their father’s clear testamentary intent.

We reject the MacLeish children’s invitation to adopt the Restatement (Third) of the Law Governing Lawyers § 51 (2000). The Auric exception remains the operative standard. We conclude that the narrow Auric exception to the rule of nonliability of an attorney to a non-client applies to the administration of an estate in addition to the drafting and execution of a will. That is, a non-client who is a named beneficiary in a will has standing to sue an attorney for malpractice if the beneficiary can demonstrate that the attorney’s negligent administration of the estate thwarted the testator’s clear intent.

Applying Auric to the facts of this case, we determine that Charles MacLeish’s clear testamentary intent was not thwarted by any alleged negligence on the part of Boardman. As a result, we conclude that the MacLeish children’s claim against Boardman for legal malpractice was properly dismissed. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals.

Affirmed

Concur:

Dissent:

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.