SC03-59 – Cowan Liebowitz And Latman, P.C., Et Al. v. Donald Kaplan, Etc.

State: Florida

Docket No: SC03-59

Case Date: 03/17/2005

Preview:Supreme Court of Florida
____________ No. SC03-59 ____________ COWAN LIEBOWITZ & LATMAN, P.C., et al., Petitioners, vs. DONALD KAPLAN, etc., Respondent. [March 17, 2005] CANTERO, J. In this case, we decide whether a potential plaintiff may assign a legal malpractice claim involving the preparation of private placement memoranda. In two prior cases, we allowed the assignment of other types of claims, contrasting them to claims for legal malpractice, which we stated were not assignable. See Forgione v. Dennis Pirtle Agency, Inc., 701 So. 2d 557 (Fla. 1997) (permitting the assignment of claims against an insurance agent); KPMG Peat Marwick v. Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co., 765 So. 2d 36 (Fla. 2000) (permitting the assignment of claims against an accountant conducting an independent audit). In the decision below, the Third District Court of Appeal permitted the assignment of a legal malpractice

claim, analogizing an attorney preparing private placement memoranda to the accountant conducting an independent audit we described in KPMG. See Kaplan v. Cowan Liebowitz & Latman, P.C., 832 So. 2d 138, 140 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002). That holding expressly and directly conflicts with our statements in KPMG and Forgione (albeit in dictum) implying a blanket prohibition against assignment of legal malpractice claims. Therefore, we accepted jurisdiction. Cowan Liebowitz & Latman, P.C. v. Kaplan, 844 So. 2d 645 (Fla. 2003) (table); see art. V,

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