United States Court of Appeals FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT _____________ No. 96-2627SI _____________ Thomas A. Johnson, * * Appellant, * * v. * Appeal from the United States * District Court for the Southern Curt A. Oppel; Stanley, Lande & * District of Iowa. Hunter, P.C., Jointly, Severally and in * the Alternative, formerly known as * [UNPUBLISHED] Stanley, Rehling, Lande & Van Der * Kamp, P.C., * * Appellees. * _____________ Submitted: May 13, 1997 Filed: June 10, 1997 _____________ Before McMILLIAN, FAGG, and LOKEN, Circuit Judges. _____________ PER CURIAM.

Thomas A. Johnson appeals the district court's adverse grant of summary judgment in Johnson's legal malpractice action. We review a grant of summary judgment under a well-established standard. We review de novo questions of state law in this Iowa-based diversity action. Having considered the record and the parties' briefs, we are satisfied that any actionable malpractice on the part of Curt A. Oppel and his law firm did not proximately cause Johnson's damage. Because the district court correctly held that Johnson failed to establish an essential element of his malpractice claim, a comprehensive opinion would lack precedential value in this fact-intensive case. We thus affirm the district court without further discussion. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.

A true copy.

Attest: CLERK, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.

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