Hodges v. Carter
North Carolina Supreme Court
80 S.E.2d 144 (N.C. 1954)
Hodges (plaintiff) hired attorneys Topping and Carter (defendants) to sue four insurance companies after his fire-damaged drugstore claims were denied; the attorneys served process by mailing the summonses to the North Carolina Insurance Commissioner, a method customarily used and routinely accepted by insurance companies, but the state supreme court later dismissed the suits because the Commissioner lacked authority to serve process on out-of-state companies. Hodges then sued Topping and Carter for negligence over the failed service, and the trial court entered a nonsuit in the attorneys' favor.
Whether an attorney breaches the duty of care by acting in good faith but making a mistake on a point of law that is reasonably unsettled among attorneys in the field.