Pretzel & Stouffer Attorneys Prevail in Appellate Court Sustaining Dismissal for Accountant

In another example of Pretzel & Stouffer’s robust professional liability defense practice, Brendan Nelligan and Matthew Egan recently prevailed in the Illinois Appellate Court on behalf of the firm’s clients, an accountant and his firm who were sued for professional malpractice arising from allegations that the accountants misadvised certain clients.

The circuit court dismissed the plaintiffs’ complaint on the grounds that the claims were time-barred by both the statute of limitations and the statute of repose. In doing so, the court explicitly rejected application of the continuous course of treatment doctrine to accounting professionals. The Appellate Court unanimously affirmed the judgment in favor of the accountant and his firm.

This case is significant because it reiterates the longstanding policy of Illinois courts not to read exceptions into clearly defined statutes concerning time limitations for professional malpractice claims. In particular, Illinois courts have consistently rejected the continuous course of treatment doctrine as a means to toll the statutes of repose and limitations in malpractice actions. See, 2018 IL App (1st) 180716.