Opinion ID: 894601
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Scope of Representation

Text: 239 JV alleges that Joe and Jenkens committed legal malpractice by negligently failing to inform 239 JV of a matter material to the representation, the September 7, 1994 Irving City Council meeting at which the moratorium on apartment construction passed. 239 JV claims that timely disclosure of the impending Council vote on the moratorium would have allowed it to grandfather its property under an exception to the moratorium and then consummate the pending contract on the 11-acre tract. To recover on a claim for legal malpractice, the plaintiff must establish: (1) the attorney owed the plaintiff a duty, (2) the attorney breached that duty, (3) the breach proximately caused the plaintiff's injuries, and (4) damages occurred. Peeler v. Hughes & Luce, 909 S.W.2d 494, 496 (Tex.1995). Generally, a lawyer's fiduciary duties to a client, although extremely important, extend[ ] only to dealings within the scope of the underlying relationship of the parties. See Rankin v. Naftalis, 557 S.W.2d 940, 944 (Tex.1977) ; see also Joseph v. State, 3 S.W.3d 627, 639 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1999, no pet.) (The nature of the attorney-client relationship defines an attorney's duties and the professional services to be rendered.); Restatement (Third) of the Law Governing Lawyers § 16 cmt. c; § 50 cmt. d (2000) (a lawyer's duties are ordinarily limited to matters covered by the representation). While it is true that an attorney owes a client a duty to inform the client of matters material to the representation, Willis v. Maverick, 760 S.W.2d 642, 645 (Tex.1988), this duty to inform does not extend to matters beyond the scope of the representation. See, e.g., Joseph, 3 S.W.3d at 639 (noting that an attorney could not render ineffective representation to a criminal defendant on offenses for which she was not retained to represent defendant); Klager v. Worthing, 966 S.W.2d 77, 83 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 1996, no writ) (holding that law firm did not assume a duty to supervise a client's medical care despite agreeing to represent client in silicone breast implant litigation); Restatement § 50 cmt. d (a lawyer is not liable for failing to act beyond the scope of representation). In fact, the lawyer may not act beyond the scope of the contemplated representation without additional authorization from the client. Tex. Disciplinary R. Prof'l Conduct 1.02; Restatement § 16, cmt. c; § 27, cmt. e. In this case, 239 JV argues that Joe and Jenkens had a duty to inform 239 JV of the September 7, 1994 meeting. Viewing the facts in the light most favorable to 239 JV, the scope of Jenkens's representation included Thau's reviewing and drafting sale documents for the 11-acre tract but did not include representation of 239 JV in matters before the Irving City Council. Arthur Hewett, a principal in 239 JV, confirmed that 239 JV handled its planning and zoning issues before the Irving City Council internally and that Jenkens never represented 239 JV in such matters. Such matters were thus beyond the agreed scope of representation between 239 JV and Jenkens. Moreover, the scheduling of the September 7th Council meeting was a matter of public record to which 239 JV had access. The nature of the meeting was publicly available, as evidenced by the fact that other developers took action to grandfather their plats upon learning of the pending moratorium. Because representing 239 JV before the City Council was not included in the scope of Jenkens's representation, Jenkens had no duty to inform 239 JV of the September 7, 1994 meeting. Thus, the trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of Jenkens on 239 JV's claim that Jenkens negligently failed to inform 239 JV about the September 7, 1994 City Council meeting on the moratorium.