John Lee Sincox v. Murphy Blackwell, Jr.

POLITZ, Circuit Judge:

This diversity jurisdiction case presents a significant question of Louisiana law, of particular import to the practice of law in that state, for which we find no controlling precedent in the decisions of the Supreme Court of Louisiana. We therefore defer decision in order to certify the question to the Supreme Court of Louisiana, pursuant to its Rule XII.

We briefly summarize the uncontroverted facts. In 1975, John Lee Sincox retained attorney Murphy Blackwell, Jr., of the West Monroe, Louisiana law firm of Jones, Blackwell, Chambliss, Hobbs, and Henry, to represent him…