Through a vigorous defense in support of their client, Glassman, Wyatt, Tuttle & Cox, P.C., shareholders Richard Glassman and Ed Wallis obtained a dismissal in federal District Court in Knoxville for a lawyer sued for the alleged ineffective representation of a criminal defendant and fraud in handling a criminal case and for causing an alleged civil rights violation on a criminal accused.

Glassman and Wallis filed a Motion to Dismiss the case against their client, instead of filing an Answer, making several arguments in support of dismissal. They first argued that private attorneys may not be sued as a state actor when representing a criminal defendant and performing traditional legal functions. As the client was appointed to represent a criminal defendant and was sued for alleged actions and omissions taken during her representation of the criminal defendant, the attorney could not be sued as a matter of law for civil rights damages. Glassman and Wallis also argued that even if the case could have been brought under a civil rights theory or a traditional legal malpractice theory, the plaintiff waited too long to file suit. Glassman and Wallis argued that, under either an application of the statute of limitations for a state common law legal malpractice claim or a federal civil rights claim, the suit must have been filed within one year and further argued the plaintiff did not file suit within the period of time required. The federal District Court granted the Motion to Dismiss and dismissed the attorney defendant with prejudice based upon the expiration of the statute of limitations.

Both Richard Glassman and Ed Wallis regularly defend attorneys that have been sued for a variety of legal theories and practice areas in state and federal courts in Tennessee, Arkansas and beyond.  Glassman and Wallis likewise routinely speak to other attorneys on legal malpractice and legal ethics, including recommendations on what attorneys can and should do to improve their practice and avoid pitfalls.

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For more information about the Firm, please call (901) 527-4673.