Opinion ID: 1209871
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Diamond's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment

Text: Diamond contends that the superior court erred in denying his motion for partial summary judgment as to Wagstaff's liability for legal malpractice. According to Diamond, Wagstaff's only reasonable response to his letter of May 9 would have been to notify him that evidence of a permanent injury was unnecessary in order to file a third-party claim against Alyeska and that Diamond would have had to bring such a claim within two years of his accident. Wagstaff responds that denial of the summary judgment motion is appropriate if one construes Diamond's letter and Wagstaff's response in the context of the other facts appearing in the record. Relying on two recent cases, Doe v. Hughes, Thorsness, Gantz, Powell & Brundin, 838 P.2d 804 (Alaska 1992), and Drake v. Wickwire, 795 P.2d 195 (Alaska 1990), Diamond contends that this court will uphold summary judgment if it finds certain attorney conduct to be negligent as a matter of law. Yet the parties in Hughes, Thorsness did not dispute the facts. The issue on appeal was whether a law firm's tactical decision in an adoption proceeding constituted negligence as a matter of law or merely an error in judgment. See 838 P.2d at 805-07. Drake involved an unusual situation in which this court took judicial notice of the facts as recited in the defendant attorney's brief in an earlier appeal to this court. 795 P.2d at 197 n. 1. Thus, the facts in Drake also were undisputed. Neither of these cases is applicable here. When reviewing a grant or denial of summary judgment, this court determines whether a genuine issue of material fact exists and whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Saddler v. Alaska Marine Lines, Inc., 856 P.2d 784, 787 (Alaska 1993). In his opposition to summary judgment, which relied on his own deposition testimony and the affidavit of an expert witness, Wagstaff raised genuine issues of material fact as to whether he properly informed Diamond as to the applicable statute of limitations and whether he had advised that Diamond could not file suit until his injury was found to be permanent. Diamond attempts to distinguish Wagstaff's showing by contending that communications between them prior to the May 1985 exchange of letters are not relevant to resolution of the summary judgment issues. Essentially, Diamond contends that Wagstaff had a duty, as a matter of law, to remind him of the statute of limitations, and that there is no genuine issue of material fact as to whether he did so. The superior court correctly rejected this argument, concluding that Diamond's letter should be construed not in a vacuum, but rather in context of what else was told at what point, with what degree of detail and what the client's response and ... understanding of those points was. Whether Wagstaff breached a duty depended upon whether Diamond understood that the statute of limitations applied to his claim. The language of Diamond's May 1985 letter does not clearly communicate a misunderstanding on Diamond's part as to the statute of limitations. When construed in the light most favorable to Wagstaff, the facts indicate that Wagstaff apprised Diamond of the applicable statute of limitations, that Diamond understood the applicable statute of limitations, and that Wagstaff construed the letter in the context of his previous contacts with Diamond, reading the letter to relate to whether Diamond should pursue a claim. Furthermore, the parties presented affidavits of experts, the opinions of which conflicted on the appropriateness of Wagstaff's response. Therefore, there was a genuine issue of material fact on this point, and the superior court correctly denied Diamond's motion for partial summary judgment.