Walker v. Stevens

Citations

• 79 Ill. 193

Syllabus

<p>1. Attorney at law—liable to his client for negligence of his employee. Where an attorney at law employs another person to prosecute a claim placed in his hands for collection, he is liable to his client for the negligence of the person so employed b)r him, and the fact that such person is himself a competent lawyer, does not relieve the attorney employing him from liability to his client on account of such negligence.</p> <p>2. A claim placed in the hands of an attorney was in the shape of a judgment in the circuit court, and it was presented in the county court on the 31st of October, 1865, for allowance against the estate of the judgment debtor; the only question in regard to it was as to the allowance of an alleged credit of $25 claimed to be evidenced by a receipt. On the 15th of August, 1866, the claim not having been allowed, an order of distribution of the éstate was made by the county court, which exhausted the assets of the estate, leaving nothing for this claim: Held, that there was evidence from which the jury might find that, by the exercise of proper diligence in prosecuting the claim, an allowance might have been obtained prior to the 15th day of August, 1866, and- that if it had been so obtained, the claim would have shared in the order of distribution, and having so found, their verdict should not be set aside.</p>