Court Opinion

ID: 9700878
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 21:52:01.276206+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:21:15.640664
License: Public Domain

McDonald, J.
(dissenting). I respectfully dissent. I believe the trial court erred in granting defendant’s motion for summary disposition pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(8), failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
The trial court granted defendant’s motion for summary disposition because it found the proximate cause of plaintiffs’ injuries to be the criminal trial court’s error in failing to grant plaintiff Arthur Simko’s motion for a directed verdict. However, it is well settled that there may be more than one proximate cause for the same injury. *196Arbelius v Ploetti, 188 Mich App 14; 469 NW2d 436 (1991). Thus, the trial court’s finding the criminal trial court’s error to be a proximate cause of plaintiffs’ injuries did not preclude a finding that defendant’s actions likewise constituted a proximate cause of the injuries. Plaintiffs’ complaint set forth a prima facie case of legal malpractice. It alleged the existence of a client-attorney relationship, negligence resulting from defendant’s failure to present an adequate defense in the criminal trial, and that defendant’s failure to present an adequate defense was the proximate cause of plaintiff Arthur Simko’s imprisonment and related injuries. Espinoza v Thomas, 189 Mich App 110; 472 NW2d 16 (1991).
I agree with that portion of the majority opinion that states an attorney is not a guarantor of a trial free from error and has no duty "to do more for a client than that which is legally adequate to vindicate fully the client’s interests.” However, the majority’s application of this principle without analysis begs the question. The question presented by plaintiffs’ complaint is whether defendant’s actions were in fact "legally adequate to vindicate fully” plaintiffs’ rights. Plaintiffs, having set forth a valid claim, are entitled to a determination of this issue. I would find summary disposition was improperly granted.