Kent Carvell and Jane Gay Carvell, Plaintiffs-Appellees v. Thomas M. Bottoms and Paul Plant, Defendants-Appellants

Summary

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that the Carvells' legal malpractice action against attorneys Bottoms and Plant, filed May 23, 1990, was barred by the one-year statute of limitations because the plaintiffs knew or should have known they had suffered actual injury when they were sued for breach of warranty over the defective deed in February 1986. The Court formalized the two-element legal malpractice discovery rule — actual (legally cognizable) injury plus knowledge of causation — rejected tolling until the underlying litigation concludes, and retired the 'irremediable injury' label as confusing dicta. It further held that judicial estoppel does not punish a client who defends the attorney's conduct while preserving a malpractice claim, pointing to a file-and-stay remedy. Accordingly, the Court reversed the Court of Appeals and dismissed the action.