Veatch v. Aurora Loan Servs. LLC

Plaintiff failed to present any evidence to establish special damages in his lawsuit alleging slander of title.

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In a previous action to quiet title, John M. Veatch “Veatch” or the “Veatch Estate”, acting as the administrator of his father’s estate, successfully established that someone had forged two deeds in order to transfer estate property to a person who used the property to secure a $187,700 loan. The trial court’s decision to quiet title was affirmed by the Supreme Court. Aurora Loan Svcs. v. Veatch, 288 Ga. 808, 809 710 SE2d 744 2011. While the quiet title action was pending, Aurora Loan Services, LLC, with the assistance of McCalla Raymer, LLC, recorded in the Fulton County property records an assignment to Aurora of the secured party’s interest in the $187,700 loan. After the Supreme Court upheld the decision to quiet title to the property in the estate, Veatch sued Aurora and McCalla, asserting that by recording the assignment, they had slandered the title of the real property and wrongfully interfered with the estate’s property rights. The trial court granted summary judgment to the defendants, and Veatch appeals. We affirm because Veatch has failed to present any evidence to establish special damages.

“Summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Walker v. Gwinnett Hosp. System, 263 Ga. App. 554, 555 588 SE2d 441 2003 citations and punctuation omitted. A trial court’s grant of summary judgment is reviewed de novo on appeal, construing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. Ethridge v. Davis, 243 Ga. App. 11, 12 530 SE2d 477 2000. “If there is no evidence sufficient to create a genuine issue as to any essential element of plaintiff’s claim, that claim tumbles like a house of cards. All of the other disputes of fact are rendered immaterial.” Lau’s Corp. v. Haskins, 261 Ga. 491 405 SE2d 474 1991 citation omitted.

Veatch v. Aurora Loan Servs. LLC

Plaintiff failed to present any evidence to establish special damages in his lawsuit alleging slander of title.

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