McIntosh County Bank v. Dorsey & Whitney, LLP

McIntosh County Bank (McIntosh) (plaintiff) purchased a loan from Miller & Schroeder (Miller) after conducting its own independent analysis rather than relying on Miller's. Miller had hired Dorsey & Whitney, LLP (Dorsey) (defendant) to represent it in securing that same loan. When the debtor later defaulted, McIntosh sued Dorsey for legal malpractice, but the district court granted Dorsey summary judgment, finding McIntosh was neither Dorsey's client nor a third-party beneficiary of Dorsey's representation of Miller; the court of appeals reversed, and Dorsey appealed.