Lockton

David B. Lockton appeals from a judgment of dismissal entered after demurrers by defendants and respondents Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP, and Richard A. Schirtzer and Michael O’Rourke and O’Rourke, McCloskey & Moody (collectively respondents) to the fifth amended complaint for legal malpractice. The demurrers were sustained without leave to amend on the ground the action was barred by the statute of limitations. He claims the trial court improperly based its ruling on facts that do not appear on the face of the fifth amended complaint and that the ruling was contrary to the purposes underlying the continuous representation tolling rule.

The trial court’s ruling was based on facts alleged in previous verified versions of Lockton’s complaint. This was proper under established pleading doctrine. The allegations of the fifth amended complaint were sufficient to establish that respondents represented Lockton’s interests in the subject matter of this malpractice action only until new counsel was retained to pursue those claims in a separate state court action. Since Lockton learned that his underlying state court claims were barred more than one year before he…