Samda Investment Group LLC v. Western Surety Co.

The guarantor of a indemnity agreement arising out of a surety bond was estopped from asserting the lack of the principal's signature as a ground to invalidate the bond.

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In this civil action to recover under an indemnity agreement, defendants Hamid Jahangard and his company Samda Investment Group LLC “Samda LLC”1 appeal the trial court’s grant of summary judgment against Jahangard and in favor of Western Surety Company on the question of Jahangard’s liability for monies Western Surety paid under a bond to a county water system for a year-old bill for water provided to an apartment complex operated by Jahangard. Jahangard and Samda LLC also appeal the trial court’s denial of summary judgment in Jahangard’s favor. Because the undisputed facts show that Jahangard was estopped from denying the validity of the bond and that Jahangard indemnified Western Surety for payments made under the bond, we affirm. Summary judgment is only 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. A de novo standard of review applies to an appeal from a grant of summary judgment, and we view the evidence, and all reasonable conclusions and inferences drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. Matjoulis v. Integon Gen. Ins. Corp .2

So viewed, the evidence shows that Samda Investment Group, Inc. “Samda Inc.” owned an apartment complex, for which the local public water company required that a bond be issued to guarantee payment of the water bills for the complex. Samda Inc. and Jahangard executed an indemnity agreement, in which they requested Western Surety to become surety for the bond and in which they indemnified Western Surety for any liability sustained by Western Surety as surety under the bond. In response, Western Surety some weeks later executed a bond in favor of the water company, guaranteeing Samda Inc.’s payment of the water bills. Although the bond anticipated that Samda Inc. would execute the bond as principal and thereby reaffirm its primary liability for the water bills, that signature was never obtained.

Samda Investment Group LLC v. Western Surety Co.

The guarantor of a indemnity agreement arising out of a surety bond was estopped from asserting the lack of the principal's signature as a ground to invalidate the bond.

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