Phillips and Wicks' End, Inc. v.

Summary

The Supreme Court of Delaware affirmed the Superior Court's exclusion of the appellants' legal-malpractice expert, summary judgment against their malpractice counterclaim, summary judgment on the appellees' breach-of-contract claim, and denial of an extension of fact discovery. The court held that the expert lacked the required familiarity with Delaware's legal-malpractice standard of care and that no bridging expert had been offered; without qualified expert testimony, the malpractice claim failed as a matter of law. The written engagement agreement barred contradictory evidence of an alleged fee cap, and the circumstances established an implied-in-fact contract binding Wicks' End.