The Portuguese Supreme Court by sentence of 09.03.2010, pronounced in the scope of the appeal to the higher courts n.º265/06.4TBGVA.C1.S1, a question related with the civil liability of lawyers.
In the referred process, besides the lawyer who was defendant, to who the Authors imputed an omissive behavior, the Insurance Company ARCH Insurance Company (Europe), Ltd., was also defendant represented by the ALMEIDA & ATHAYDE, Society of Lawyers, R.L.
In the lower court they both had been acquitted of the request formulated by the Authors, who considered to have suffered damages in the amount of € 149.529, 90, as a result of not presenting in time appeal allegations, and consequently, the defection of it.
The lower court acquitted the defendants of the demand considering that, in the concrete case, there was no illicit fact, guilt or damage, and even that damage had occurred, it would always exist a lack of the nexus of causality between the illicit fact and such damage.
In appeal, presented by the Authors, in the Court of Appeal of Coimbra, the decision of the Lower Court was revoked, and the defendants condemn paying the Authors the amount that it would be discharged in liquidation incident, having as maximum value € 129,529, 90.
Essentially, the defendant lawyer had left his appeal, presented as a consequence of the refusal in recognizing the credits of the Authors in an Insolvency process, fail for not having presented his allegations in time. The Supreme Court of Justice came then to decide in the same orientation of the Lower Court, considering that the defendant lawyer did not act with any guilty or illicit intent, nor he has caused to the Authors the alleged damage. This because, it was proven that the Authors were not workers of the Insolvent company, not withholding, therefore, any credits. And, not being able through the Insolvency process, to receive the credits complained, the defection of the appeal did not provoke them any damages.