Elnora Maxey became the guardian of Sean Demetri Hall after the death of his parents. Ms. Maxey died in 1996, and her estate consisted of two residential properties. Anthony Cooper petitioned to probate Ms. Maxey’s will, and to be appointed executor. The will designated Hall as the sole devisee. Hall’s new guardian Julia Annette Jordan filed a caveat objecting to the appointment of Cooper as executor. During a hearing before the probate court, Cooper stated that he would distribute the estate to four alleged children of Ms. Maxey, an altercation ensued, Cooper was removed from the courtroom, and the hearing was continued until a suitable person could be appointed administrator with the will annexed. Ms. Jordan died, and her husband John H. Jordan was appointed Hall’s guardian. Several months after he turned 18 years old, Hall died intestate in 1998, and Jordan was appointed administrator of his estate. Over the next several years, the two residential properties remained in Ms. Maxey’s estate, but mortgage and tax payments were made by Hall’s estate, by Jordan, and by his attorney, Appellant William G. Witcher, Jr. On April 6, 2007, Cooper entered into an agreement with Quan Smith of Savant Properties and Partners, LLC to sell both properties for $20,000 each. On April 9, Cooper again petitioned the probate court to admit Ms. Maxey’s will to probate in solemn form and to be named executor, but he stated that there was no heir to the Maxey estate and failed to serve either Jordan or Appellant. In May, Savant agreed to sell the properties for a total of $190,000 to JSD Properties, LLC. An otherwise clear title report advised JSD to “See Probate on George/Elnora Maxey.” On June 5, 2007, the probate court issued letters testamentary to Cooper and entered an order admitting the will to probate in solemn form and authorizing him to disburse all of the estate property according to the terms of the will, which granted the executor power to sell any estate property by public or private sale. Cooper sold the properties to Savant on June 7, and the sale by Savant to JSD closed on June 15.
In his capacity as administrator of the Hall estate, Jordan filed in superior court, with respect to each property, a petition to quiet title and complaint for damages, alleging that Cooper fraudulently obtained the letters testamentary and breached his fiduciary duties, and that Savant, Smith, JSD, and JSD’s managing member David Bell aided and abetted that breach when they purchased the property for a fraction of its rightful value. Jordan also filed notices of lis pendens. The probate court removed Jordan as administrator because of his failing health and appointed Appellant as successor administrator. The superior court granted summary judgment in favor of JSD and Bell Appellees on all of the claims against them and cancelled the notices of lis pendens, but did not make any ruling with respect to the remaining defendants. Appellant appeals from that order, contending that the superior court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Appellees because genuine issues of material fact exist as to whether JSD was a bona fide purchaser for value without notice and as to whether they aided and abetted Cooper, Smith, and Savant in the breach of fiduciary duty.
