S-21-0377, Stuart Kozal, d/b/a Jumping Eagle Inn; Arrowhead Inn, Inc., d/b/a Arrowhead Inn; Jason Schwarting; Clay Brehmer; Daniel Brehmer, d/b/a State Line Liquor, Douglas Sanford, Steve Sanford, and Sanford Holdings, L.L.C., d/b/a D & S Pioneer Service (Appellants) v. Andrew W. Snyder and Chaloupka, Holyoke, Snyder, Chaloupka & Longoria P.C. L.L.O. (Appellees)
Appeal from the District Court of Sheridan County, Judge Travis O’Gorman
Attorneys: Diana J. Vogt, Robert S. Sherrets, Thomas G. Schumacher (Sherrets, Bruno, and Vogt, LLC) for Appellants and Steven W. Olsen and Amy N. Leininger (Simmons Olsen Law Firm, PC, LLO) for Appellees.
Civil: Legal Malpractice
Proceedings below: The district court overruled Appellants’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and sustained Appellees’ Motion for Summary Judgment. Appellees filed a petition to bypass the Court of Appeals, which was granted by the Nebraska Supreme Court.
Issues: Appellants argue that the district court erred in: 1) concluding, as a matter of law, that Snyder did not breach the applicable standard of care because: a) it is undisputed that Snyder failed to name all parties of record in the appeal from the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission’s decision; b) the issue of including “all parties of record” was settled in an unambiguous statute; and c) even assuming arguendo that including the citizen objectors was an unsettled issue, Snyder breached the applicable standard of care by failing to advise the Appellants of the risk of omitting the citizen objectors; 2) granting summary judgment to Snyder because there was clear evidence that Snyder breached the applicable standard of care and caused Appellants to lose their liquor licenses, including Snyder’s own written admission; and 3) in failing to grant Appellants’ motion for partial summary judgment.