Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Partner Hiawatha Northington II recently secured a full summary judgment in favor of the firm’s bank client, which had been added to construction litigation involving one of its customers and her building contractor. GRSM effectively intervened in the case, bringing a resolution to a legal dispute that had been ongoing for over five years.
The dispute initially arose when the plaintiff filed suit in state court in Mississippi, alleging that the contractor she hired to renovate her home failed to complete the work properly. The bank had only provided a construction loan to the plaintiff to fund the renovations. However, the plaintiff later added the bank to the lawsuit as a defendant, alleging that it had improperly paid the defendant contractor without the plaintiff’s authorization and failed to inspect the contractor’s work during the renovation process. The plaintiff accused the bank of breach of contract, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, and unjust enrichment, claiming both compensatory and punitive damages.
The court granted the bank’s motion for summary judgment, ruling that the plaintiff’s breach of contract claim against the bank, based on her agreement with the contractor, lacked merit. The court also found that the plaintiff failed to provide evidence of any “conspicuous wrongdoing” by the bank and did not present sufficient proof to support her unjust enrichment claim or entitle her to quantum meruit damages.
GRSM’s timely intervention and aggressive pursuit of disposition cleared the bank of any wrongdoing and repositioned the case between the proper parties to the dispute.
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