This case involves a dispute over family trusts created in the 1960s and 1970s by the grandparents of the plaintiff, Mary Minton Eitel. The trusts were designed to provide income and principal distributions for her father, with Eitel holding a remainder interest. In 2020, the trusts were terminated, and Eitel alleged she received less money than intended. She had previously sued the trustees of the trusts in a separate case, Eitel v. PNC Bank, N.A., alleging mismanagement and improper distributions. In that prior litigation, the district court granted summary judgment for the trustees, finding the claims were abandoned or time-barred. Eitel then filed this suit against Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC (SKO), alleging that the law firm negligently drafted the original trust agreements and failed to advise the trustees, causing the mismanagement. She asserted three counts: legal malpractice, aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty, and an independent breach of fiduciary duty. The district court dismissed all claims, ruling they were barred by the one-year statute of limitations and that the aiding and abetting and independent breach claims failed to state a valid cause of action.
The Sixth Circuit reviewed the dismissal de novo, applying Kentucky law to determine the applicable statute of limitations. The court identified KRS § 413.245 as the exclusive statute of limitations for attorney malpractice claims, which imposes a one-year deadline. This period begins to run upon the later of either the occurrence of the cause of action or the date the claim was discovered or should have been discovered. The court found that the 'occurrence' limitation had long passed, as the alleged negligence in drafting the trusts occurred decades ago, and the final distribution of the trust, which would have caused any injury, happened in 2020. The central dispute turned on the 'discovery' rule. The plaintiff argued she could not discover the malpractice until a court in the prior litigation interpreted the trust language, which she claimed triggered the limitations period. The court rejected this, clarifying that discovery does not require a judicial determination of negligence or an explicit warning from an authority figure. Instead, the statute begins to run when a plaintiff is on notice of the injury and has a duty to investigate. The court noted that Eitel filed a suit in 2020 alleging nearly identical injuries against the trustees, proving she was aware of the harm and had access to the trust documents and counsel. Under Kentucky law, the discovery rule does not toll the statute of limitations to allow a plaintiff to discover the identity of the wrongdoer unless there is fraudulent concealment. Since Eitel was aware of her injury in 2020, she was on notice to investigate SKO's role, and the clock started then. The court also addressed arguments for tolling based on equitable estoppel or disability. It found that the statutory tolling provision cited by the plaintiff did not apply to malpractice claims. Furthermore, the plaintiff failed to plead specific facts supporting equitable estoppel, such as fraudulent concealment by SKO, and her claim of disability was forfeited or legally insufficient because she had the capacity to bring suit in her own name.
The decision reinforces the strict application of Kentucky's one-year statute of limitations for legal malpractice claims. It clarifies that the discovery rule is triggered by a plaintiff's awareness of the injury and the duty to investigate, not by a court's formal finding of malpractice or the identification of the specific attorney responsible. Practically, plaintiffs must act quickly once they become aware of potential harm, even if they initially sue the wrong party or are unsure of the specific legal theory. The ruling leaves open the question of whether fraudulent concealment could toll the period, but sets a high bar for proving such conduct. The case is remanded with instructions to dismiss the claims with prejudice.
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