No Help For The Indigent

The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a legal malpractice claim

Paul Rusgrove appeals from a district court’s summary judgment dismissing his lawsuit against Wayne Goter alleging legal malpractice. Rusgrove argues the district court erred in dismissing his claim for failure to identify an expert witness alleging the district court should have permitted him to subpoena an unretained government employee to provide expert testimony because he is indigent. He also argues the district court should have applied a less stringent legal standard to him, because he is an incarcerated self-represented litigant. We conclude the district court appropriately granted summary judgment dismissing Rusgrove’s lawsuit with prejudice, because he failed to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to his case on which he would bear the burden of proof at trial because he did not timely retain an expert witness. Rusgrove’s remaining arguments are completely without merit, because he provided no relevant legal authority in support of his positions.

(Mike Frisch)