Attorneys Beware

By
Laurie Murphy

A recent California appellate decision holds that an attorney who entrusted a filing with a paralegal who did not get the papers filed timely did not adequately supervise his employee and was therefore not saved when the trial court found for the defendant because the opposition to the motion for summary judgment was not timely filed. The trial court did not buy plaintiff's counsel's argument that the late filing was the result of surprise, mistake or excusable neglect. The court of appeals agreed and found that it was inexcusable neglect for the attorney to entrust the preparing and filing of the opposition to a summary judgment motion to his paralegal who took the file on vacation with her and did not file it timely.