A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has rejected an insurance carrier’s attempt to reinstate legal malpractice claims against an assistant county counsel over a $31 million verdict in an auto accident case she tried.

The appeal by State National Insurance Co. of a U.S. district judge’s dismissal of malpractice claims against Assistant Camden County Counsel Donna Whiteside was untimely, the Third Circuit ruled by a 2-1 margin on May 24.