Opinion ID: 1918200
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The Instant Civil Action

Text: According to her brief, Mrs. Drake allegedly became concerned in late 2003... about the purported ongoing negotiations with the IRS over Mr. Drake's outstanding debts. On July 30, 2004, Mr. McNair, in a letter, provided Mrs. Drake for the first time with a copy of the Thompson Affidavit. Mrs. Drake now claims that the Thompson Affidavit revealed fraudulent activity of which she had not been previously aware because (1) Mr. Thompson failed to disclose to the Substitute Trustee that Taurus was the actual purchaser of the Q Street property; (2) Mr. Thompson made a deposit on the Q Street property in the name of Taurus; and (3) the check that paid for the balance owed on the property on July 27, 1995, was issued by Taurus. In July 2004 Mr. McNair also provided Mrs. Drake, allegedly for the first time, with copies of the checks submitted for payment on the Q Street property, one of which named Taurus as the purchaser of the property. [7] On May 26, 2005, Mrs. Drake filed this civil action against Mr. McNair and Mr. Thompson alleging fraud in the inducement, fraudulent conversion, fraudulent misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, breach of good faith and fair dealing, breach of fiduciary duty, and civil conspiracy. Mrs. Drake filed an Amended Complaint on July 13 [8] and a Second Amendment Complaint on August 28. [9] Underlying each of Mrs. Drake's claims was the assertion that appellees wrongfully diverted proceeds from the Q Street property, an estate asset, to the Drake Trusts, thereby depriving her of her spousal interest in her late husband's estate. Specifically, Mrs. Drake claimed that Mr. McNair gave disingenuous responses in his answers to her interrogatories during the earlier probate proceedings, that he falsely stated under oath that Designmark had acquired the Q Street property during the foreclosure sale, and that Mr. Thompson had stated in his affidavit that he bid on the Q Street property at the auction on behalf of Designmark. Thereafter Mrs. Drake moved for summary judgment, whereupon appellees moved to dismiss her Second Amended Complaint on the grounds that it was barred by the applicable statute of limitations, by provisions of the Settlement Agreement, and by the doctrine of res judicata. Appellees then filed a Motion for Sanctions, arguing that Mrs. Drake's Second Amended Complaint and her claims regarding the Q Street property either lacked a factual basis or were not warranted by existing law. Mrs. Drake responded by filing a Third Amended Complaint, adding a claim for fraudulent circumvention of her distributive share of property interests as a surviving spouse. [10] In due course the trial court issued a 32-page order granting appellees' motion to dismiss. The court concluded that, by the end of 1996, Mrs. Drake was on inquiry notice that she had an interest in the transfer of the Q Street property. The court noted that in November 1995 the Substitute Deed transferring title from Taurus to Designmark had been executed and recorded, that by April 1996 the property had been sold and the proceeds delivered as income to the Drake Trusts, and that the relevant land records were available to the public. The court also ruled that Mrs. Drake's claims were barred by the incorporation and release clauses in the Settlement Agreement (see notes 22 and 23, infra ), as well as the doctrine of res judicata. [11] Mrs. Drake filed a motion for reconsideration, which the trial court denied. This appeal followed.