PJC Malpractice 2024

E CONOMIC D AMAGES

PJC 84.4

PJC 84.4

Sample Instructions for Economic Damages—Legal Malpractice

Explanatory note: Damages instructions in legal malpractice cases are often nec essarily fact-specific. The following instructions are illustrative only, using a hypothet ical situation to give a few examples of how instructions may be worded to submit various legal measures of damages. Sample A—Value of the original suit The amount, if any, that Paul Payne would have recovered and collected if his original suit against Tom Taylor had been properly prosecuted by Andy Attorney . Sample B—Loss to the value of the original suit The difference, if any, between the amount that Paul Payne [ recovered ] [ set tled for ] and collected in his original suit against Tom Taylor and the amount he would have [ recovered ] [ settled for ] and collected if the original suit had been properly prosecuted by Andy Attorney . Sample C—The increase in damages assessed against Paul Payne in the original suit The increase, if any, in damages assessed against Paul Payne in the original suit brought by Tom Taylor caused by the failure of Andy Attorney to properly defend the lawsuit. Sample D—Additional attorney’s fees incurred Reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees incurred by Paul Payne for legal services proximately caused by the negligence of Andy Attorney . Do not include any attorney’s fees incurred for the prosecution of this claim against Andy Attorney . COMMENT When to use. See explanatory note above. Because damages instructions in legal malpractice cases are necessarily fact-specific, no true “pattern” instructions are given—only samples of some measures of general damages available in such cases. This list is not exhaustive. The samples are illustrative only, adapted to a hypothetical fact situation, and must be rewritten to fit the particular damages raised by the plead-

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