Khalil v. Williams was a legal malpractice action based on the defendant-attorneys’ representation of the plaintiff in a premises liability suit. In the malpractice suit, the plaintiff’s complaint made five claims: (1) legal malpractice based in negligence; (2) legal malpractice based in breach of contract; (3) negligent misrepresentation; (4) breach of contract; and (5) fraudulent misrepresentation. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants. The Superior Court affirmed in part and reversed in part. First, the Court ruled that Muhammad v. Strassburger, McKenna, Messer, Shilobod & Gutnik, 587 A.2d 1346 (Pa. 1991), barred her claims sounding in negligence and contract against her former attorneys. However, the Court ruled that the trial court erred when it dismissed the plaintiff’s fifth count for fraudulent misrepresentation because that claim had not been previously litigated and fully adjudicated.
