Significant Victory in an Accounting Malpractice Case

Jim Sipchen and Matthew Tibble obtained a very significant victory in an accounting malpractice case, convincing the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, to uphold a dismissal based upon the statute of limitations. The case is the first to distinguish a situation where an accountant negligently fails to file a tax return by its due date from one where there is a tax deficiency embedded in a negligently prepared return and first discovered by the IRS. The court agreed that a different accrual date must be applied for the running of the limitations period, thereby confirming the dismissal of the case. Kadlec v. Sumner, 2013 IL App (1st) 122802.