A family injured in a 2019 car crash claims their lawyers failed to file a lawsuit against the other driver within the applicable statute of limitations.
St. Louis attorney Kevin Sullivan of Sauter Sullivan LLC filed the lawsuit on March 11 on behalf of plaintiffs Robert, Lorna, Hunter and Blake Bulger in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Davis Maas & Beach LLC and attorney Robert Kister.
Kister owned and operated the law firm Bob Kister Injury Law in Herculaneum, Mo. Davis Maas & Beach is a law firm in Arnold, Mo.
According to the complaint, the Bulgers all sustained injuries in a car crash in Columbia, Ill., on July 5, 2019. The collision occurred as a result of the negligence of Don Steed, the suit states. The plaintiffs sought legal counsel from the defendants, who agreed to represent them regarding an insurance claim and negligence action.
They entered into a written representation agreement with Davis Maas & Beach on Sept. 28, 2020. Kister was retained as co-counsel. The defendants allegedly communicated with the insurance company for Steed Auto-Owners Insurance.
The plaintiffs claim that on Aug. 16, 2021, Kister submitted a settlement demand on behalf of the Bulger family to Auto-Owners Insurance.
However, they claim Davis Maas & Beach breached its contract by failing to file the lawsuit against Steed within the applicable statute of limitations.
As a result, the plaintiffs claim they lost their right of recovery against Steed.
“Defendants were careless and negligent in their legal representation of plaintiffs in failing to use the degree of skill and diligence ordinarily used under the same or similar circumstances by members of the legal profession in that defendants failed to file a lawsuit within the applicable two-year statute of limitations,” the suit states.
The plaintiffs seek an amount in excess of $75,000, plus taxable costs, interest and all other relief the court deems just and proper.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:22-cv-504