Legal Question in Legal Malpractice in California

I am being sued as a "successor in interest" for legal professional malpractice committed by my deceased husband. There was a mandatory arbitration clause in the fee agreement. There is no money in estate and probate was never done. I have no assets. My husband was a sole practitioner. Person is not suing for attorney's fees but for professional negligence. What are my defenses? AND there was no malpractice policy in place.


Asked on 3/05/22, 7:26 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Your defense is that you cannot be sued as a "successor in interest" to professional negligence. The plaintiff can only sue the estate of the decedent in probate. If no probate was opened, the plaintiff will have to open one and then sue the estate. That said, you are still probably going to have to hire a lawyer to get the case thrown out. You can't just ignore it, because they will take your default and get a judgment that way, that they are not entitled to.

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Answered on 3/06/22, 6:17 pm


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