Proper Spelling Fits Lawsuit to a ‘T’

In a ruling likely to delight grammar school teachers, a state appellate court has decided that winning a lawsuit does not exempt an attorney from a higher duty: spelling properly.

The decision, handed down this week by the 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana, upheld a lower court ruling that in effect set the price of the letter “t” at $50,000.

The roots of the case were a $50,000 judgment won by James Orr in 1978 against William Elliott in a lawsuit over the dissolution of their Santa Ana business partnership. When Orr’s attorney subsequently prepared legal papers to establish a lien against Elliott’s property, he left off the final “t” in the defendant’s name.

Thus, when Elliott sold a parcel of property in 1979 under his correctly spelled name, the title company found no record of a lien. Orr later found out the property had been sold and he filed suit to attach it. Although he eventually died, his widow continued the suit.

Agreeing with a lower court decision, the appeals court ruled that Orr had had his chance at the property, and that it had slipped away for good because of the misspelling.