Perkio v. Prunier

The issues in this case are: at what point in time damages for an attorney’s negligent representation that a parcel of land is free of encumbrances should be measured, and whether a plaintiff may recover for mental suffering as an element of damages in such an action.

In 1974, the plaintiffs, Matti Perkio and Joanne Keurulainen, now Perkio, signed a purchase and sale agreement for a tract of land in New Ipswich, New Hampshire. To obtain financing, they went to a Massachusetts credit union. A Massachusetts attorney contacted the defendant, a New Hampshire attorney, to search the title to the…