Opinion ID: 1822804
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: standing by attorney-client relationship

Text: The Fourth District properly concluded that Security National's attorney-client relationship with Stern did not give it standing to bring a legal malpractice action based upon acts that occurred during Stern's representation of a prior holder of the note and mortgage. As the Fourth District explained: A legal malpractice action has three elements: 1) the attorney's employment; 2) the attorney's neglect of a reasonable duty; and 3) the attorney's negligence as the proximate cause of loss to the client. See Kates v. Robinson, 786 So.2d 61, 64 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). For statute of limitations purposes, a cause of action for legal malpractice does not accrue until the underlying adverse judgment becomes final, including exhaustion of appellate rights. See Silvestrone v. Edell, 721 So.2d 1173, 1175 n. 2 (Fla. 1998). That is the first point at which there is a redressable harm. Id. at 1175. Until then, a malpractice claim is hypothetical and damages are speculative. Id.; see also Hold v. Manzini, 736 So.2d 138, 142 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999) (mere knowledge of possible malpractice is not dispositive of when a malpractice action accrues). Security National points to this law and argues that because it owned the loan by the time the appeal was completed and the cause of action accrued, the law regarding the assignment of legal malpractice claims is irrelevant. Simply put, it claims that it was the owner of the loan at the critical point in time. By contrast, Stern points to language from our decision in Kates, 786 So.2d at 64: In stating a claim for legal malpractice, it is not sufficient merely to assert an attorney-client relationship. The plaintiff must also allege that a relationship existed between the parties with respect to the acts or omissions upon which the malpractice claim is based. See also Maillard v. Dowdell, 528 So.2d 512 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988). These cases rejected attempts by former clients to retroactively expand the scope of the attorney's representation. While they are factually different, the basic point seems sound: the time of the alleged negligent act or omission is the critical point for testing the scope and existence of the attorney-client relationship. Stern, 916 So.2d at 936-37. We agree with the Fourth District's conclusion. Security National did not gain standing to sue Stern for prior acts of legal malpractice by forming an attorney-client relationship with Stern during the appeal of the underlying foreclosure action. Therefore, we approve the Fourth District's conclusion on this issue. However, as explained below, we disagree with the Fourth District's extension of Kaplan into the context of general assignments of notes and mortgages.