Jeffrey A. Strother
200 N. Fourth, Suite 30 Telephone
Attorney At Law
Boise, Idaho 83702 208-342-2425

Victoria Wigle Facsimile
Paralegal 208-342-2429

Margo S. Cadmis Strotherslaw@juno.com
Legal Assistant 

November 16, 1999

To Whom It May Concern:

Ed Turner’s case against the city of Idaho Falls, Idaho, which concerned the issue of responsible charge, has been dismissed. We have reason to believe that this result was caused by mistakes on the part of John Ohman, his original attorney. Now that the case is one for legal malpractice, Turner has received a number of comments to the effect that the issue of responsible charge was no longer involved in the case. This is simply not true, and Turner has asked that I write this letter to explain why.

An action for legal malpractice involves the trial of what lawyers call " a case within a case." Here, the "inside case" is Turner’s original lawsuit against the city of Idaho Falls. The "outside case" involves the conduct of the lawyer. In prosecuting the "outside case" it is necessary to prove that Turner would have prevailed on the "inside case." For that reason, all of the issues that were involved in the original case against the City of Idaho Falls are still involved in this current action for legal malpractice. This includes the issue of responsible charge and all related matters. Therefore, the concept of responsible charge, what it entails and what it requires, which was central to the "inside case", remains a critical point in the action for legal malpractice.

Any rulings in this case that define the nature and scope of responsible charge will bind engineers and land surveyors practicing in Idaho, just as though the case was still between Turner and the city of Idaho Falls. To be successful on this issue, we will be required to present expert engineering testimony to prove that Turner was on the right side of the responsible charge issue. This will be just as important, just as difficult, and just as expensive as it was in the original lawsuit against the city of Idaho Falls. Unfortunately, because we are now involved in a new lawsuit, at least a portion of the expense that was originally incurred must be incurred once again, because the attorney’s insurance company has the resources to confuse all issues in the case, including that of responsible charge. Therefore, whatever assistance that you can provide either in the form of testimony or money, is still vital to the case.

If you have any questions regarding the matters discussed in this letter, please fell free to contact me by writing me at 200 N. Fourth Street, Suite 30, Boise, Idaho, 83702, or by telefax to (208) 342-2429, or by telephoning me at (208) 342-2425. Contributions to help Ed Turner in this lawsuit should be sent to Turner Engineering Litigation Assistance, P.O. Box 1341, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83403-1341.

Very truly yours,

Jeffrey A. Strother

JAS/msc