Attorney malpractice case arising out of appeal is dismissed where plaintiff could not prove she would have prevailed on appeal

In Bowden v. Gannaway, the Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a malpractice claim against an attorney who allegedly failed to prosecute Janell Bowden's appeal of the denial of her disability claim.  The appellate judges pointed out that under current Michigan law, since the medical adviser had not certified Janell as "totally and permanently disabled" she was ineligible for benefits by statute and therefore, her attorneys could not have prevailed in an appeal.  Therefore, the alleged failure to file the appeal within the 60-day deadline was moot and not actionable.