Carbone v. Tierney
New Hampshire Supreme Court
864 A.2d 308 (2004)
Alfred Carbone (plaintiff) hired attorney Nancy Tierney (defendant) to sue his son and daughter-in-law, but Tierney repeatedly mishandled the litigation — failing to properly allege federal jurisdiction (leading to dismissal), failing to appeal that dismissal, refiling defectively in another federal court, and after a Massachusetts state suit was dismissed due to a court paperwork error, never following up to find out why. Tierney also failed to protect Carbone's interests when the daughter-in-law later filed for bankruptcy, as Carbone had specifically instructed. Carbone sued Tierney for malpractice in New Hampshire; the trial court granted Carbone summary judgment on liability, and after trial, a jury awarded him roughly $175,000 in damages; Tierney appealed.
Whether, in a legal malpractice action, a plaintiff must present expert testimony to establish causation when the disputed issue is not one a lay jury would ordinarily be competent to decide, and whether the non-collectability of the underlying judgment is an affirmative defense the defendant must prove.