Morris J. Griffin filed the underlying action asserting claims of legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud against Michael C. Fowler, arising out of estate planning services performed by Fowler on Griffin’s behalf. Griffin also sued the individual partners in Fowler’s law firm, Bivens, Hoffman & Fowler, LLP, and the firm itself. The trial court granted partial summary judgment to the defendants on Griffin’s claims of breach of fiduciary duty and fraud, leaving the legal malpractice claim to be decided by a jury.1 Griffin appeals. For reasons explained below, we affirm. To prevail at summary judgment under OCGA § 9-11-56, the moving party must demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the undisputed facts, viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, warrant judgment as a matter of law. OCGA § 9-11-56 c. A defendant may do this by showing the court that the documents, affidavits, depositions and other evidence in the record reveal that there is no evidence sufficient to create a jury issue on at least one essential element of the plaintiff’s case. . . . Our review of an appeal from summary judgment is de novo. Citations omitted. Vasquez v. Smith , Case No. A02A1814 decided January 3, 2003. See also Willett v. Stookey, P.C. , 256 Ga. App. 403, 410 568 SE2d 520 2002. Viewed in favor of Griffin as the non-moving party, the record shows that he was the primary beneficiary of the substantial estate of his former life partner, William Kerske. Griffin met Fowler when Quinton Hudson, an attorney and longtime acquaintance of both men, referred him to Fowler for estate planning services. Hudson had performed general legal work for Griffin over 25 years. Additionally, Griffin shared a social relationship with Hudson and with Hudson’s life partner, James Richardi, with whom Hudson resided.
There is evidence that beginning as early as 1993, Fowler performed estate planning work for Griffin, including preparing a revocable living trust and other related documents to assist him in managing the bequest from Kerske. In January 1998, Griffin formally retained Fowler to assist him in establishing an estate plan. Griffin signed a retainer agreement and paid Fowler $50,000 for his services. According to Fowler, Griffin’s estate planning goals were to establish a plan for an orderly transfer of his assets after his death, to insulate his assets from creditors, and to make certain charitable contributions. Griffin deposed that he also expressed his concerns regarding his ability to effectively manage such a large amount of money, based on his spending habits and past cocaine abuse. Additionally, Griffin, who is HIV positive, wanted to ensure that he would have sufficient funds to cover future medical expenses. In 1998, Griffin received a distribution of approximately $1.4 million from the corpus of the Kerske Estate Trust.
