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Matson v. Babcock
Citations: 565 A.2d 312; 1989 Me. LEXIS 267
Court: Supreme Judicial Court of Maine; October 18, 1989; Maine; State Supreme Court
The Superior Court case involves a legal malpractice claim related to the failure of Bruno Stillman Yacht Co. to notify its insurer, American Employers Insurance Co., about a claim filed by Walter Matson. Matson had previously won a judgment against the yacht company for defects in a fiberglass hull but could not collect due to the insurer's lack of notification. Bruno Stillman assigned its malpractice claim against its attorneys, Ernest Babcock and Neil Castaldo, to Matson after losing the suit against the insurer. The court ruled on two main issues: 1) the assignability of legal malpractice claims and 2) the statute of limitations on the malpractice claim. The Superior Court had previously denied the lawyers' motion for summary judgment, arguing that public policy does not prevent assignment and that the statute of limitations should not bar the action because it accrued upon discovery of the harm. However, the ruling clarified that the statute of limitations began when the malpractice occurred, specifically when the insured failed to notify the insurer, which was in February 1977. Matson's malpractice claim, filed in September 1987, was thus barred by the statute of limitations, which runs for six years after a cause of action accrues. The “discovery rule” applied in previous cases was deemed inapplicable here, as the insured could have independently notified the insurer about the claim. The court vacated the interlocutory order and directed that judgment be entered in favor of the defendants on both counts of the malpractice claim. All justices concurred in the decision.