Sandgathe v. Jagger

Plaintiff appeals from a judgment dismissing with prejudice his legal malpractice action against his former criminal defense attorney. He contends that, under the reasoning of Stevens v. Bispham, 316 Or 221, 851 P2d 556 (1993), the court erred in dismissing the action with prejudice rather than without prejudice. We reverse.

Plaintiffs malpractice action arises out of two criminal proceedings in which defendant represented plaintiff. The first involved an incident in 1992 in which plaintiff assaulted his dentist. Following a jury trial in May 1993, plaintiff was convicted of assault in the…