Dukes v. Noe

OPINION

CANTRELL, Judge.

We are asked to decide when the one-year statute of limitations for legal malpractice began to run where the offending attorney filed a complaint in a personal injury action but allowed the suit to lapse when the defendant was not served with process. We hold that the statute began to run on the date the original action became subject to dismissal — not on the date it was actually dismissed.

I

George Dukes was injured in an automobile accident in Montgomery County on December 29, 1987, and hired Thomas A. Noe, III, to represent him in an action for personal injuries. Mr.…