Union Planters Bank, N.A. v. Thompson Coburn LLP

State: Illinois

Court: 5th District Appellate

Docket No: 5-08-0497 Rel

Case Date: 06/03/2010

Preview:NO. 5-08-0497
N O T IC E Decision filed 06/03/10, corrected 06/18/10. The text of this decision

IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

may be changed or corre cted prior to the filing of a Petition for Rehearing or the disposition of the same.

FIFTH DISTRICT ___________________________________________________________________________ UNION PLANTERS BANK, N.A., ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellant and ) Madison County. Cross-Appellee, ) ) v. ) No. 04-L-791 ) THOM PSON COBURN LLP, ) ) Honorable Defendant-Appellee and ) Daniel J. Stack, Cross-Appellant. ) Judge, presiding. ___________________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE WEXSTTEN delivered the opinion of the court: The plaintiff, Union Planters Bank, N.A., formerly known as Magna Trust Company (Magna), brought the present action against its attorneys, the defendant, Thompson Coburn LLP (Thompson Coburn), seeking to recover $11,789,053.24 in damages M agna paid in settlement and legal expenses as a result of legal malpractice allegedly committed by Thompson Coburn in the performance of transactional work (giving advice or preparing documents for a business transaction) regarding Magna's termination as a trustee and the transfer of the trust funds following that termination. A jury returned a verdict in favor of Magna in the amount of $3,654,606.40. Magna appeals, and Thompson Coburn cross-appeals. Magna contends that the trial court erred in (1) "refusing to grant a new trial on the issue of damages[] or alternatively failing to grant a new trial on all the issues" and (2) "requiring the plaintiff to elect between [c]ount I, the professional negligence count, and [c]ount II, the contract count." Thompson Coburn argues that we should reverse the trial court and enter a judgment notwithstanding

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the verdict in its favor because the trial court erred as a matter of law when it found that Magna owed a fiduciary duty to the creditors of the trusts at issue. For the following reasons, we affirm. BACKGROUND This case is a part of the aftermath of litigation that arose out of the scheme orchestrated primarily by James Gibson to defraud several personal injury plaintiffs or their heirs (the injured plaintiffs) of their personal injury settlements that they had structured with Gibson's companies

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