Dewrell Sacks LLC v. Chicago Title Ins.

Questions of fact remained as to whether the plaintiff intended to rescind the individual defendant's personal guaranty to fully indemnify a title insurance company for any and all loss it sustained as the result of the defendant LLP's failure to perform its duties and obligations under the parties' Issuing Agency Contract.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Chicago Title Insurance Company “CTIC” sued Dewrell Sacks, LLP “DS” and Mara Sacks Dewrell1 collectively “defendants” seeking to recover losses that CTIC suffered as a result of DS’s errors with regard to several real estate closings in Georgia. CTIC raised claims for indemnity and breach of the parties’ title insurance agency contracts and Mara Dewrell’s guaranty agreement, and sought to recover monies owed by DS for the remittance of title insurance policy premiums that DS collected. The defendants denied liability for CTIC’s claims, and raised the defense of res judicata based upon prior litigation in federal court. The defendants also raised several counterclaims including breach of contract, refusal to settle accounts, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, setoff and recoupment, punitive damages and attorney fees. Following discovery, both parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The trial court denied the defendants’ motion for summary judgment on res judicata grounds, finding that this case and the prior federal lawsuit did not arise out of the same transaction or series of transaction. The trial court granted CTIC’s motion for partial summary judgment on the defendants’ counterclaims. The trial court also granted Mara Dewrell’s motion for summary judgment on her claim that the parties’ rescinded her personal guaranty.

The instant cross-appeals ensued. In Case No. A13A0901, the defendants contend that 1 the trial court erred in denying their motion for summary judgment on the grounds of illegality of the parties’ contract and res judicata, and 2 the trial court erred in dismissing their counterclaims. In Case No. A13A0902, CTIC contends that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to the defendants on the issue of whether Mara Dewrell’s guaranty had been rescinded. For the reasons that follow, we affirm in part and reverse in part.

Dewrell Sacks LLC v. Chicago Title Ins.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report