Everest Stables, Inc. v. Porter, Wright LLP

── Everest Stables, Inc. v. Porter, Wright LLP ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Date: May 14, 2026 Category: General United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 25-1950 ___________________________ Everest Stables, Inc., a Minnesota corporation; Jeffrey Nielsen Plaintiffs - Appellants v. Porter, Wright, Morris, & Arthur LLP; Christopher D. Cathey Defendants - Appellees ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the District of Minnesota ____________ Submitted: March 19, 2026 Filed: May 14, 2026 ____________ Before SHEPHERD, ERICKSON, and GRASZ, Circuit Judges. ____________ ERICKSON, Circuit Judge. Everest Stables, Inc. (“Everest”) and Jeffrey Nielsen filed this lawsuit against Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur LLP (“Porter Wright”) and Christopher Cathey based on their alleged mishandling of three legal malpractice cases. Porter Wright counterclaimed to recover unpaid fees. The district court 1 dismissed all claims against Porter Wright and Cathey. The district court 2 then granted Everest and Nielsen’s motion for summary judgment on the counterclaims. Everest and Nielsen appeal the dismissal of their claims. We affirm. I. BACKGROUND Everest is a thoroughbred horse breeding and racing company with its principal place of business in Minnesota. Nielsen is the owner and Chief Executive Officer of Everest. In 2008, Everest retained William Rambicure to draft a contract regarding the sale of equine assets and provide related legal advice. In 2009, Everest retained Foley & Mansfield, LLP (“Foley”) for two lawsuits: one arising out of the 2008 contract regarding the sale of equine assets and the other against a horse trainer. In 2010, Nielsen retained Dorsey & Whitney, LLP (“Dorsey”) to handle four lawsuits related to Nielsen’s removal of election campaign signs. Everest and Nielsen were dissatisfied with the work performed by Rambicure, Foley, and Dorsey, so they hired Cathey, who worked for Porter Wright during the relevant time period, to pursue legal malpractice actions against them. Nielsen signed an engagement letter with Porter Wright that covered the Dorsey and Foley lawsuits. The letter contained the following provision: “Choice of Law. The relationship between the Client and the Firm, including the validity, construction, and enforceability of this engagement letter, shall be governed in all respects by the law and professional conduct rules of the State of Ohio, without regard to conflicts of laws principles.” Everest retained Cathey for the Rambicure 1 The Honorable Wilhelmina M. Wright, United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota, now retired. 2 The Honorable Jerry W. Blackwell, United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota. -2- lawsuit shortly before Cathey started working for Porter Wright, and his previous law firm’s engagement letter contained no choice-of-law clause. On July 1, 2015, Everest commenced suit in the Western District of Kentucky against Rambicure, two law firms he worked for during the relevant time period, and a malpractice insurance company. Everest alleged Rambicure committed malpractice by (1) failing to include a fiduciary duty provision in Everest’s contract with the broker, (2) advising Everest that the contract imposed fiduciary duties on the broker when it did not, and (3) advising Everest that it could set reserve bids on auctions for its horses and not pay a commission to the broker if the reserve was not met. On June 6, 2018, the di