Stevens v. McGuireWoods LLP

Court properly granted summary judgment in favor of Defendant law firm in legal malpractice case filed by former minority shareholders in management company. Plaintiffs are bound by trial court's determination, in underlying case, that Plaintiffs had no standing to bring individual claims against management company's corporate counsel.In Illinois, to bring a derivative claim, plaintiff must have been a shareholder at time of transaction of which he complains and must maintain his status as a shareholder throughout the entire pendency of the action. Even assuming they were successful, Plaintiffs could not have collected personally on any judgment entered against corporate counsel on derivative claims, as at the time they filed present action against Defendant law firm, Plaintiffs had relinquished any and all ownership in company. Thus, Defendant law firm's failure to assert contested claims against corporate counsel in a timely manner caused no injury to Plaintiffs in their individual capacities, which is the only capacity in which they are now proceeding.(GARMAN, FREEMAN, KILBRIDE, KARMEIER, BURKE, and THEIS, concurring.)