Here is the story in a nutshell: City attorney wants to race cars and needs money to buy into the sport. City attorney has the ability to hire outside counsel. City attorney goes to outside counsel he has hired, and gets race car money from them. City attorney ok’s big paycheck. Legal Malpractice case by city against both attorneys. Details.

Plaintiff’s parent’s home was wrongly demolished by the city. They later died and the son sued the city, its officials and various attorneys for civil rights and legal malpractice. The case went to the US Supreme Court, and is now back in District Court at the pleading stages. Details.

Yet another report from the Internet and Class Action Blog on DLA Piper and Legal Malpractice.

“Aidentity Matrix Entertainment filed a lawsuit against DLA Piper alleging that Piper had a duty to docket “all deadlines, domestic and foreign, for its clients’ patent applications.” Indeed, the plaintiff points to Piper’s web site which allegedly states that “At Piper Rudnick, we consider it our job, not the client’s, to ensure that all actions are taken in timely fashion, and that nothing slips through the cracks.”

The plaintiff alleges that it instructed Piper to obtain patent protection for its SmartToys technology in numerous jurisdictions. However, Piper allegedly “misdocketed the priority date” of a Patent Cooperation Treaty application deadline for 2000, rather than for 1999. Piper allegedly made other errors in subsequent years.

The lawsuit alleges that in 2003, Piper discovered its error. It further alleges that Piper admitted to the plaintiff that because the filing was not timely, the plaintiff would not be able to obtain patent protection for the SmartToys technology in certain foreign jurisdictions, namely Japan, South Korea, and China.”

Full Blog article.

“The bankruptcy trustee for former clients of Dallas’ Godwin Gruber has filed a professional negligence and breach of fiduciary duties suit against the firm and two former shareholders, alleging the defendants mishandled a patent infringement case.

The original petition names the firm — now known as Godwin Pappas Langley Ronquillo — and former shareholders Arthur Navarro, now of the Navarro Law Office in Irving, Texas, and Michael K. Hurst, now a partner in Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail in Dallas.

In the petition in Robert Yaquinto Jr., as the Trustee of the Bankruptcy Estate of Renato Specialty Products Inc. and as the Trustee of the Bankruptcy Estate of Renato S. Riccio v. Godwin Gruber LLP, Now Known as Godwin Pappas Langley Ronquillo LLP, et al., filed on Aug. 24 in state court in Dallas, the plaintiffs allege the defendants failed to present “competent” evidence against a motion for summary judgment filed by the opposing side in the underlying infringement suit, and failed to prosecute the suit `with the degree of skill, care and knowledge required of a reasonably prudent and competent attorney.'”

Entire details.