Schmidt v. Coogan

*490¶1

Teresa Schmidt hired Timothy Coogan to represent her in a premises liability action against a grocery store. Coogan waited until the final day of the statutory period to file the complaint and then named the wrong defendant. The case was dismissed. Schmidt successfully sued Coogan for malpractice and was awarded $212,000 in damages. The trial court ordered a new trial as to damages only. Both parties appealed. The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the action for dismissal, holding that Schmidt had failed to prove all the elements of the underlying premises liability claim and that…