Ennenga v. Starns

In instant diversity action in which plaintiffs-decedent's child and grandchild asserted legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary claims stemming from defendants-attorneys' alleged failure to properly draft trust agreement in accordance with decedent's intent, Dist. Ct. properly applied limitation period from Illinois, as opposed to Minnesota where defendants resided, since Illinois courts have adopted presumption that forum state will apply own statute of limitations period even if underlying claim applies substantive law from different state. Moreover, Dist. Ct. properly dismissed as time-barred plaintiff-child's malpractice action where said plaintiff had failed to file said action within timeframe for filing claims against decedent's estate. Also, although plaintiff-grandchild's legal malpractice claim was timely due to her status as minor, defendants were entitled to dismissal with prejudice as to said claim where correspondence between decedent and defendants indicated that defendants correctly drafted trust agreement to wishes of decedent to treat said plaintiff less favorably than other grandchildren. Finally, both plaintiffs' failure to raise instant breach of fiduciary claim (concerning sale of decedent's assets) in prior state-court action by plaintiffs seeking stay of sale of same assets required dismissal of instant claim on res judicata grounds.