ROGER ZITRIN, M.D., P.A., APPELLANT,
v.
DONALD KENNETH GLASER, M.D., ET AL., APPELLEES

Fla. 4th DCA | 1993-06-30
No. 91-3096
STONE, J., concurs specially with opinion., GUNTHER, J., dissents without opinion.
621 So. 2d 748 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1993) Negative Treatment
Cited by 9 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Dr. Zitrin appealed the dismissal of his legal malpractice action against his former attorney Shepard, contending the two-year statute of limitations had not expired. The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the statute of limitations for professional malpractice begins to run when the injury is discovered or should have been discovered, not when the defective agreement was executed.


Holding

The statute of limitations for professional malpractice begins to run when the cause of action is discovered or should have been discovered with due diligence. Here, Dr. Zitrin's injury was not established until June 1990 when Dr. Glaser actually breached the employment agreement by leaving, so the statute of limitations commenced at that time, not when the agreement was executed in 1987.


Headnotes

[1] A cause of action for professional malpractice accrues when the injured party discovers or should have discovered the cause of action, not necessarily when the negligent…

[2] In legal malpractice actions, the statute of limitations begins to run when the client suffers redressable harm or injury, and knows or should know of the injury or the n…

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Key Quotes

“the period of limitations shall run from the time the cause of action is discovered or should have been discovered with the exercise of due diligence”

The statutory language establishing that the limitations period begins when the cause of action is discovered, not when the negligent act occurred.

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Facts & Procedural History

Dr. Zitrin hired attorney Shepard to prepare an employment agreement with Dr. Glaser. The agreement contained three material defects: it lacked a cove…

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Opinion of the Court
MOE, LEROY H., Associate Judge.

MOE, LEROY H., Associate Judge.

This is an appeal from an order dismissing a legal malpractice action on the ground that the action was barred by the two year statute of limitations set forth in section 95.11(4)(a), Florida Statutes (1991). We reverse and remand with directions to reinstate the action.

This case began when Roger Zitrin, M.D. (Dr. Zitrin), the appellant, sought injunctive relief against the appellee Donald Glaser, M.D. (Dr. Glaser) for Dr. Glaser’s breach of an employment agreement. Appellee Jonathan L. Shepard (Shepard) was Dr. Zit-rin’s attorney. He prepared the agreement.

Upon the discovery of three material defects in the employment agreement, Dr. Zitrin amended his complaint to assert a cause of action against Shepard for legal malpractice. The new cause of action alleged that Shepard failed to include three requested provisions: (1) a covenant not to compete, prohibiting Dr. Glaser from practicing within five miles of Dr. Zitrin’s Del-ray Beach office; (2) a provision entitling Dr. Glaser to a bonus if he remained in the employment of Dr. Zitrin through the end of the applicable year; (3) a provision for attorney’s fees in the event that Dr. Zitrin would have to bring an action against Dr. Glaser to enforce the agreement.

Shepard filed a motion to dismiss the legal malpractice counts, claiming it had been filed past the two year statute of limitations. The trial court granted the motion, finding that Dr. Zitrin’s action was time barred because the statute of limitations commenced on November 20, 1987, when Dr. Zitrin and Dr. Glaser executed the agreement. This appeal followed.

Dr. Zitrin contends that the trial court’s finding was in error based on one of the following grounds: (1) that the statute of limitations should commence when the underlying cause of action against Dr. Glaser is complete, or, (2) that the statute of limitations did not commence until June of 1990 when Dr. Glaser “breached” the employment agreement.

We agree with Dr. Zitrin’s second contention. Section 95.11(4)(a), Florida Statutes (1991) provides in part:

(4) WITHIN TWO YEARS.—

(a) An action for professional malpractice, ... whether founded on contract or tort; provided that the period of limitations shall run from the time the cause of action is discovered or should have been discovered with the exercise of due diligence.

Dr. Zitrin’s first contention, based on Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. v. Lane, 565 So. 2d 1323 (Fla.1990), is incorrect. This court agrees with Shepard that Lane, and the cases cited therein, involve “litiga-tional malpractice,” or errors committed in the course of litigation which might be changed on appeal. In those cases, the existence of negligence is not determined until the appeal is complete. See Zakak v. Broida & Napier, 545 So. 2d 380, 381 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989); Haghayegh v. Clark, 520 So. 2d 58 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988). In this case, Shepard has admitted, and it is clear from the face of the agreement, that he failed to include the requested provisions. There is no need to confirm his error on appeal.

As to Dr. Zitrin’s second contention, the law is well established that “[generally, a cause of action for negligence does not accrue until the existence of a redressable harm or injury has been established and the injured party knows or should know of either the injury or the negligent act.” Lane, 565 So. 2d at 1325 (emphasis added). We find that these two factors were not present when Dr. Zitrin and Dr. Glaser executed the agreement in 1987. Instead, we find that Dr. Zitrin’s injury was not established until June of 1990, when Dr. Glaser actually left the employment of Dr. Zitrin. See Kellermeyer v. Miller, 427 So. 2d 343 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). Thus, the statute of limitations commenced in June of 1990, when Dr. Glaser “breached” the agreement.

Accordingly, we reverse the order granting the Motion to Dismiss Dr. Zitrin’s legal malpractice action, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

STONE, J., concurs specially with opinion.

GUNTHER, J., dissents without opinion.

Concurrence
STONE, Judge,

STONE, Judge,

concurring specially.

I concur in reversing because there is no actionable malpractice claim until the client incurs an injury, or knows or should know that there will certainly be resulting damage. However, I do not agree that Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. v. Lane has the limited application indicated by the majority opinion. Rather, in my judgment the reasoning of that opinion also supports our reversing.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Art Silvestrone v. Edell, 721 So. 2d 1173 (Fla. 1998)
    …h Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. v. Lane, 565 So. 2d 1323 (Fla.1990); however, Peat, Marwick is distinguishable because it involves transactional malpractice. We disagree with the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Roger Zitrin, M.D., P.A. v. Glaser, 621 So. 2d 748 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993), that Peat, Maiwick involves litigation-related malpractice. . For instance, a judgment becomes final either upon the expiration of the time for filing an appeal or postjudgment motions, or, if an appeal is taken, upon the appea…
  • Segall v. Segall, 632 So. 2d 76 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993)
    …completed on appellate review because, until that time, one cannot determine if there was any actionable error by the attorney.” Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. v. Lane, 565 So. 2d 1323, 1325 (Fla.1990) (citations omitted); see also Zitrin v. Glaser, 621 So. 2d 748, 749 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993) (in cases such as Peat, Marwick that involve “litigational malpractice,” [*78] or errors committed in course of litigation, existence of redressable harm not determined until appeal complete); Haghayegh v. Clark, 520 So. 2d…
    1 / 2
  • Coble v. Aronson, 647 So. 2d 968 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)
    …m caused by errors within active litigation could not be determined where the allegedly aggrieved party settled the underlying litigation or in another way did not complete the appellate process. As this court stated in Zitrin, M.D., P.A. v. Glaser, 621 So. 2d 748, 749 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993), those cases “involve ‘litigational malpractice,’ or errors committed in the course of litigation that might be changed on appeal. In those eases the existence of negligence is not determined until the appeal is complete.” I…

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