Williams v. North American Title Ins. Co.
Appellant Andres Lamar Williams, individually and as Trustee of the Andres Williams Trust dated June 25, 2004 (collectively, Williams), appeals from summary judgment entered in favor of respondent North American Title Insurance Company (North American). Williams filed suit against North American for bad faith and related insurance claims after Williams was sued by his neighbor Christopher Murphree (Murphree) for interference with Murphree’s sewer line, which ran across Williams’s property. Williams and North American had earlier settled a claim when it was learned that the Murphree sewer line was not disclosed at the time Williams purchased his property.
The pivotal issue on appeal is whether a previous release executed by these parties in conjunction with the settlement of Williams’s earlier claim bars Williams’s current lawsuit against North American. Among other arguments, Williams contends North American’s representative misrepresented the terms of the release and, as a result, he never understood that his earlier settlement with North American included a release of the “duty to defend [Williams] in a civil action concerning the encroachments.†Williams claims that since the potential for coverage exists, summary judgment was erroneously granted. We conclude, as did the trial court, that the release bars the current lawsuit, and we shall therefore affirm the summary judgment.
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