On November 10, 2015, the Illinois First District Appellate Court affirmed the circuit court’s holding that a legal malpractice suit was brought too late to continue, regardless of how the calendar of events was viewed.
Originally, Vernon and John Q. Nelson had filed a wrongful death suit due to asbestos exposure in 2005, in which they were represented by Cascino Vaughn Law Offices. In May 2007, the court closed discovery in the asbestos suit, and six months later, it dismissed the suit.
Accordingly, in November 2013, the Nelsons brought their legal malpractice action against Cascino Vaughn, alleging that Cascino Vaughn had failed to obtain essential evidence prior to the closing of discovery. They additionally alleged that Cascino Vaugh never alerted them to the closure of discovery or the dismissal of the claims.
Although the Nelsons claimed several different statute of limitations starting dates in order to keep their malpractice suit alive, the court ultimately found that which date they argued was irrelevant. Concluding that the Nelsons must have been aware of the malpractice long before the dates they were alleging, the court held that the statute of limitations had expired and dismissed the legal malpractice lawsuit.