In Mississippi, the statute of limitation deadline to sue an attorney for malpractice is three years. Mississippi’s general three year statute of limitations deadline is applicable to legal malpractice cases. This imposes a three year deadline on suing the attorney from the date of the malpractice. Mississippi courts recognize the discovery rule in malpractice cases.
In the case of Smith v. Sneed, the Mississippi Supreme Court held that “the statute of limitations in a legal malpractice action properly begins to run on the date the client learns or through the exercise of reasonable diligence should learn of the negligence of his lawyer”. 638 So. 2d 1252 (Miss. 1994).
In the case of Channel v. Loyacono, the Mississippi Supreme Court held that “the discovery rule is to be applied when the ‘plaintiff will be precluded from discovering harm or injury because of the secretive or inherently undiscoverable nature of the wrongdoing in question’ or it may be applied ‘when it is unrealistic to expect a layman to perceive the injury at the time of the wrongful act” 954 So. 2d 415 (Miss. 2007).
In other words, a client who learns of the attorney’s malpractice should file suit within three yearsfrom the time of the discovery to preserve a claim.
