News

Early Sullivan partners Billy Wright and Christopher Ritter recently prevailed on demurrer on behalf of client Stewart Title of California, Inc. (STCA).  The demurrer to the complaint, largely based on Markowitz v. Fidelity Nat. Title Co., 142 Cal.App.4th 528 (2006), was sustained without leave to amend on the first attempt. The case involved a negligence claim in which the plaintiff was seeking $1.2 million in alleged damages, arguing that STCA’s alleged failure to record a reconveyance of a deed of trust in a refinance cost the property owner the opportunity to sell the property to a buyer for $4.17 million. The court found that STCA owed no duty to the plaintiff and entered judgment in favor of STCA.