Opinion ID: 754757
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: national title and sartain

Text: 36 In discussing the appellants' negligence claim against National Title and Sartain, we note the distinction between negligent misrepresentation and simple negligence drawn by the Tennessee Supreme Court in Stinson v. Brand, 738 S.W.2d 186 (Tenn.1987). 5 The defendant in Stinson was a law firm that had been asked by a purchaser of property to perform a title search and prepare the legal documents necessary to convey the property. The sale was to be financed primarily by a promissory note of the purchaser, secured by a deed of trust. Both the sellers and the purchaser met at the law firm with the firm's secretary and executed the documents there. A stamped legend on the deeds stated the name of the law firm and attorneys as an indication of who had prepared the deeds and the deed of trust, and one of the attorneys of the firm was listed as a trustee on the deed of trust to act on behalf of the sellers. The purchaser apparently requested that the law firm leave blank the name of the grantee on the property deeds. After the instruments were executed, as part of the transaction the defendant law firm paid the back taxes on the property with a check given it by the sellers. The law firm never gave any instructions to the sellers and, therefore, when the sellers received the deed of trust they never took any action to record it. See id. at 188-89 (finding the defendant-law firm did not give the plaintiffs-sellers instructions to record the deed of trust). 37 The purchaser never paid the promissory note, and because the deed of trust was not recorded, the purchaser was able to resell the property. The purchaser then filed for bankruptcy, leaving the plaintiffs-sellers no direct recourse against the purchaser on the sale. The court held that the law firm and its lawyers so far involved themselves in the transaction that a trier of fact could find that they were representing multiple interests, id. at 190, even though they only charged a fee to the purchaser. Under these facts, the court held that a jury could find that the defendant-law firm was required to exercise reasonable care toward all concerned. Id. at 191. 38 In the instant case, as the district court in this case pointed out, there is no evidence to suggest that National Title and Sartain approached the level of involvement in the real estate transactions comparable to the defendants in Stinson. See also John Martin Co., 819 S.W.2d at 429-30 (discussing the defendant's level of supervision and control). Menuskin v. Williams, 940 F.Supp. 1199, 1215 (E.D.Tenn.1996). Stinson makes a clear distinction between cases where the attorneys are so involved in the transaction as to be representing both sides of the transaction and those cases that merely involve a claim of negligent misrepresentation. See Stinson, 738 S.W.2d at 191 (noting that even if no attorney-client relationship existed or was intended, appellants could be liable for negligence under the principles of the Tartera case); Collins v. Binkley, 750 S.W.2d 737, 739 (Tenn.1988). In this case, the appellants have presented insufficient evidence to indicate that there was an attorney-client relationship between the appellants and National Title or Sartain. Without an attorney-client relationship in this case, there is no support for a claim of simple negligence, but only the possibility of a claim of negligent misrepresentation as discussed supra in Part II.B.1. As the district court indicated: 39 Plaintiffs were buyers of and DWCC was the seller of real estate. DWCC requested that National Title and Sartain prepare the warranty deeds for the real estate transactions; the documents met the minimum requirements for recording. DWCC did not request from National Title and Sartain a title search, title insurance, or assistance conducting the closings. Miles, Parker, and Cooke did not clearly and directly identify National Title and Sartain as the title company and attorney purportedly performing the necessary title and legal work. Plaintiffs do not assert that National Title and Sartain were aware of the representations made by Parker, Miles, and Cooke that a title company and an attorney were purportedly performing title and legal work on behalf of Plaintiffs. In apparent reliance upon the statements by Miles, Parker, and Cooke, Plaintiffs chose not to have attorneys, not to have the titles searched, and not to purchase title insurance. Neither Sartain nor anyone else from National Title met or talked with Plaintiffs before the closings. 40 Menuskin, 940 F.Supp. at 1217. 41 We quote the district court here not to suggest that the inclusion of any one of these facts would necessarily be sufficient to support a claim of simple negligence, but merely to indicate that their absence in this case enables the appellees to prevail on their motion for summary judgment. For these reasons, we affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment for National Title and Sartain on the simple negligence claim.