Richard C. Haugabook filed suit against three brothers primarily alleging money had and received and unjust enrichment arising out of an unusual set of events. The Crisler brothers had hired Paul Farr, a lawyer, to pursue claims arising out of their mother’s untimely death, but Farr never filed suit and lied when he told them their case had settled. In a bizarre and perhaps good-hearted attempt to get the fictitious settlement proceeds to the Crislers, Farr then employed an illegal, check-kiting scheme with his law firm’s bank accounts, which resulted in an actual wire transfer of $1 million to the Crislers on a Friday. On the following Monday and Tuesday, Farr then defrauded Haugabook, his father-in-law, into lending the same amount to cover the shortage in the firm bank accounts. When the fraud was discovered, the firm filed a real wrongful death suit on behalf of the Crislers to protect their rights, and Haugabook demanded the Crislers return the money. When they refused, he filed this suit. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the trial court held in favor of the Crislers and ruled that Haugabook’s claims against them were legally flawed. Haugabook now appeals. 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. OCGA § 9-11-56 c. We review a grant or denial of summary judgment de novo and construe the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. Home Builders Assn. of Savannah v. Chatham County, 276 Ga. 243, 245 1 577 SE2d 564 2003.
The material facts are not dispute; Haugabook does not contend that the trial court erred with regard to the facts. On December 14, 2004, Ginny Crisler died after she was struck by a hit and run motorist. On January 12, 2005, Scott Crisler employed Paul Farr and his firm —Barnes, Farr and NeSmith —to pursue a wrongful death claim on behalf of the three brothers.1 Nevertheless, for a period of almost two years Farr did very little to pursue the claims. He did not fully investigate the case, he did not file suit, and he never settled the case. When dealing with Scott Crisler, however, he concocted a steady stream of lies claiming that the suit was progressing, and he fabricated correspondence, pleadings, and other documents and sent them to the Crislers to support his story. Eventually, Farr told the Crislers that he had been offered policy limits to settle the claim, which the Crislers understood to be $1 million each from two different carriers. Scott Crisler, who had no knowledge of the fraud, accepted the fictitious offer.
