This case concerns, among other claims, Branch Banking & Trust Company’s claim that the 2008 guarantors1 are liable under guaranties they executed in 2008, in connection with several loans the bank was contemporaneously making to Tampa Investment Group, Inc. “Tampa Investment”, for three loans the bank made in 2005 to Legacy Investment Group, LLC “Legacy Investment”.2 See Legacy Communities Group v. Branch Banking & Trust Co., 310 Ga. App. 466 713 SE2d 670 2011 “Legacy I”. In ruling on the parties’ cross-motions for partial summary judgment, the trial court determined, inter alia, that the 2008 guaranties were effective under the Statute of Frauds, OCGA § 13-5-30 2, to make the 2008 guarantors liable for the 2005 loans to Legacy Investment. See Legacy I, 310 Ga. App. at 468. The trial court granted the bank’s motion for partial summary judgment and denied the 2008 guarantors’ motion on this issue, and the 2008 guarantors appealed to this Court. See id. Contrary to the trial court’s ruling, we concluded in Division 2 of our opinion in Legacy I that the 2008 guaranties did not identify the pre-2008 notes with the specificity required for a promise to answer for another’s debt to be binding on the guarantor under the Statute of Frauds. Id. at 474 2. We concluded, however, that the 2008 guarantors were estopped from asserting a Statute of Frauds defense to the enforcement of the guaranties by the bank’s performance of its obligations under the guaranties. Id. at 474-475 2. Accordingly, we affirmed the trial court’s order in favor of the bank. Id. at 476 2. Our holding regarding estoppel made it unnecessary to reach the 2008 guarantors’ alternative contention that the 2008 guaranties did not sufficiently identify Legacy Investment as the principal debtor on any pre-2008 notes and that, therefore, the guaranties were unenforceable under the Statute of Frauds as to Notes 25, 26, and 23/28. Id. at 476 2.
The Supreme Court of Georgia granted the 2008 guarantors’ petition for writ of certiorari, which was docketed as Case No. S11G1729. The Supreme Court determined that we erred in holding that “the 2008 guaranties did not sufficiently identify any pre-2008 notes” to be enforceable against the guarantors under the Statute of Frauds. Tampa Investment Group v. Branch Banking & Trust Co., 290 Ga. 724 2 723 SE2d 674 2012 “Tampa”. Further, the Supreme Court determined that we erred in holding that the 2008 guarantors were estopped from asserting a Statute of Frauds defense to the bank’s claims against them on pre-2008 notes. Id. The Supreme Court therefore reversed our judgment in Division 2 of Legacy I, and remanded the case, directing this Court to consider the issue of whether the 2008 guaranties sufficiently identify Legacy Investment as the debtor on Notes 25, 26, and 23/28. Tampa, 290 Ga. at 731 2.3 Accordingly, we vacate Division 2 of our previous opinion, Legacy I, 310 Ga. App. at 471-476 2, and take up that issue now.
