Legal Malpractice Verdict Against Law Firm

Jason Reese

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An Indianapolis jury awarded $18 million against a local law firm for commiting legal malpractice.

Fillenwarth Dennerline was on the hook because everyone else involved in the collapse of the Indiana Construction Insurance Trust already had settled with the Indiana Department of Insurance.
When the state liquidated the trust, it collected $7 million to pay back the medical claims of 8,200 Hoosiers.
Frederick Dennerline III wanted the law firm's insurance company to settle for $1 million, too, according to a separate lawsuit. He was the attorney for the trust, which was a medical insurance collective of union contractors.
The insurance company refused to settle, the case went to trial and, last week, the law firm and ProNational Insurance Co. were hit with an $18 million judgment.

This case goes to show that even lawyers can be negligent. And not just a cause simple harm to their clients, but a huge amount of harm.