Madison County Circuit Judge Sarah Smith has granted a motion to withdraw sought by the plaintiff's attorney in a two-year old legal malpractice claim.
In an April 15 order, Smith allowed the Belleville firm Ripplinger and Zimmer to withdraw from representing Lawrence Butler who sued three attorneys in May 2019, claiming they failed to properly pursue his icy slip and fall suit against Schnucks Markets.
Smith also canceled an April 22 docket setting.
The lawyers sued by Butler included Lanny Darr of Alton, Dedra Brock-Moore of Belleville and Bryan Sanger of St. Louis.
Sanger reached a confidential settlement with Butler early on in the litigation while Darr and Brock-Moore remained as defendants and denied allegations.
According to his complaint, Butler fell on ice at Schnucks Market in January 2014 and sustained injuries. Brock-Moore, or someone in her office, his suit stated, met with Butler concerning his fall, and entered into a contract for representation. Brock-Moore allegedly then sent a letter to Sanger with the information, and described Butler as “our new client,” according to Butler's lawsuit. Sanger then allegedly relayed those details to Darr, who filed the lawsuit in Madison County on Butler’s behalf.
Butler alleged the defendants failed to determine the actual place where he fell, and did not communicaate with him before the lawsuit was filed concerning the correct area of the fall. The suit filed on his behalf stated that the slip and fall occurred at an East St. Louis Schnucks Market. However, an amended complaint filed in November 2016 stated that the fall actually took place at a Belleville location.
Butler also alleged the lawyers did not obtain medical records before the lawsuit, which also would have provided details of his incident. He alleged they did not file the lawsuit with the proper location “within the applicable statute of limitations.”
Butler claimed he would have been awarded compensation for injuries, but instead his suit against Schnucks was dismissed May 15, 2017 by Madison County Circuit Judge William Mudge.
According to Mudge, the change of location led to a new cause of action that was not related to the first complaint. Mudge then denied a motion to vacate the order of dismissal on Aug. 31, 2017.
In Darr’s response, he argued, among othr things, that Butler was the one who failed to properly communicate with the lawyers concerning the details of the accident for his personal injury claim, stating “As a direct and proximate result of one or more of the foregoing careless acts and/or omissions, the plaintiff caused or contributed to cause the damages he alleges.”
Darr also argued that Butler did not keep a proper lookout when he was walking “at an unreasonable rate of speed under the conditions present, thereby causing him to slip and fall."
In Brock-Moore’s answers, she also argued that it was Butler who offered the incorrect location concerning his fall and was careless and negligent when he was walking
Her answer noted that there was a statute “in effect and bars any recovery when a plaintiff is more than 50% of the proximate cause of the injury or damage for which recovery is sought."
She also argued that Butler's fall on an icy surface was an open and obvious condition, and that Butler should have known as he was familiar with the area.
Attorney David A. Soresen of the Law Office of Edward J. Kozel represents Darr, and John Cooney of Brown & James, PC represents Brock-Moore.
Madison County Circuit Court Case number 2019 L 642