Texas PJC Malpractice 2022

N ONMEDICAL M ALPRACTICE —T HEORIES OF R ECOVERY

PJC 61.6

negligence claims into claims for fraud, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, or a violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Murphy v. Gruber , 241 S.W.3d 689, 693 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2007, pet. denied); Kimleco Petroleum, Inc. , 91 S.W.3d at 924; Averitt v. PriceWaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. , 89 S.W.3d 330, 334 (Tex. App.— Fort Worth 2002, no pet.) (failure to perform a professional service is a tort rather than a breach of contract). Whether allegations against an attorney labeled as breach of a fiduciary duty are actually claims for professional negligence is a question of law for the court. Won Pak , 313 S.W.3d at 457; see also Murphy , 241 S.W.3d at 697 (“[W]e are not bound by the labels the parties place on their claims.”).

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