02/12/2009
Eighth Circuit Applies Minnesota Supreme Court's Third Party Standing Requirement for Legal Malpractice
Leonard v. Dorsey & Whitney LLP, 2009 WL 88855, __F.3d__(8th Cir. 2009)
Brief Summary
The Bank that purchased a participation interest in a loan from an investment bank lacked standing to sue the investment bank’s law firm as either a direct client or a third party beneficiary.
The law firm also did not have a duty to disclose to its investment bank client: (1) that it had a conflict of interest in representing the investment bank in a lawsuit brought by a bank participant against the investment bank; and (2) its potential legal malpractice to the investment bank in subsequent litigation on behalf of the investment bank because this potential could not reasonably have been expected to prejudice the law firm’s continued representation of the investment bank.
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